How Heroes Are Made
by Joker's Specter
Summary: It's a delicate process. Isaac never knew how close he came to never existing. Fortunately for him, love is unexpected. A Bouldershipping--Kyle/Dora--story for rounin's fanfic contest. -If you don't read this story, Isaac will have never been born! Gasp!-
1. Chapter 1

**_How Heroes Are Made_****  
By Joker's Specter**

**My entry for rounin's fanfic contest. This will be a multi-chapter fic consisting of a few chapters. I don't usually write stories like this, so hopefully this will be a good attempt. If anybody is interested in joining the contest, I believe you can find the rules in rounin's profile, and there is also a post at the Golden Sun Chat forum here on the site for discussion. Competition would make me a happy author.  
-Joker**

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Disclaimer:** Golden Sun is owned by _Nintendo_ and _Camelot_.

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The people in the town of Vale were enjoying a peaceful era. You wouldn't believe it by looking at it, but the town was founded by sages and warriors, set to guard Mt. Aleph for eternity. The mountain that held the secrets to alchemy was highly regarded as a sacred place, and for centuries the adepts of Vale honed their skills to protect it from intruders. Wars were waged against the town for control of Mt. Aleph, but as the world gradually wasted away, so did the will to fight.

Then the wars stopped. As the need for battling died away, so did Vale's image. Soon, the adepts of the town changed their priorities and began making a living, began raising families, and generally just enjoyed the time of peace. Other than the sages who still guarded Mt. Aleph faithfully, the townspeople let their abilities slowly die away until new generations only retained the basic of psynergy skills. Despite several of the old laws still being in place and the occasional use of basic psynergy, the town completely evolved.

No longer having a need for many weapons, most of the businesses that sold blades and armor shut down. Throughout the years, as travelers began to come by less and less due to the strict laws that allowed minimal freedom in Vale, even more of the weapon dealers went out of business. The chain went on until only one remained, a shop that sold both weapons and armor.

The owner of the building was an old man by the name of Mr. Romar. The aging man ran it most of his life when he took over from his father, but as time took its toll he found it more and more difficult to walk the distance to the shop every day. Mr. Romar hired a single employee to work during the week for him. Little did that employee know just how boring a job he had taken. Still, the man worked and did what he could, and simply just enjoyed the peace like everyone else.

In a time before Saturos and Menardi's mission; a time before Mt. Aleph's eruption that would change everyone's lives. Even before Isaac, Garet, Jenna, and Felix were born...

...there was Kyle.

Inside the dusty, dark shop, nothing could be heard but the soft sounds of a man sleeping. Boxes of swords and armor were scattered around the room. A few chairs were placed rather randomly around the sides, as well as some plants that desperately needed watering. Several were completely dead.

In one of the back corners at a counter marked "Kyle's Desk", the top of someone's head could be seen. The messy, light-brown hair was collecting some of the dust from the counter as the man moved in his sleep.

Nearly every day was like that for Kyle. Shortly after taking the job, the eighteen-year-old set up the extra, unused counter as his desk where he would goof off until a customer walked in. Papers with drawings were strewn everywhere, as well as half-eaten food and several wood-carvings. he had gone to great lengths to entertain himself; sometimes it was weeks before a customer would walk in.

Kyle often wondered why the old man kept him employed, especially every day of the week. But as long as he was getting paid, it wasn't a problem to him. Mr. Romar had no wife and kids, and from what Kyle could guess, the old man got quite a large inheritance along with the shop. It didn't seem like it was too much of a problem.

That particular day, Kyle was having a very interesting dream. He was quite annoyed when he felt someone tapping his head, waking him.

"Mm, huhn?" he slurred as he rolled his head over and sat up, blinking.

"Oh, so you are alive," said a female's voice.

Kyle blinked again, only seeing an outline of a woman in the dim light. It also didn't help that he had blurry vision. He rubbed his eyes and said, "What can I help you with?"

There was a moment of hesitation on the other side of the desk. The woman looked around, studying the shop with an intense stare. "I don't think you can help me, actually. You seem to have a hard time helping yourself," she said in amazement with a strong voice. "How can you breathe in here?"

The young man yawned and finally took a good look at the lady, immediately recognizing her. Vale was small, so Kyle had seen everybody at least a few times. She had wavy shoulder-length red hair, an average figure and a plain face. Her clothes consisted of a simple casual dress that ran all the way down her legs. He decided that if he made it a practice to rate girls, she'd probably be a seven. Not that he rated girls, of course. If he remembered correctly, the woman's name was Doreen.

"Doreen, right?"

"Dora," the woman corrected.

So close. Kyle stood up from his chair and leaned over the counter, spreading dust everywhere. A thin layer coated his cotton shirt. "So... Comments on my work habits aside, what can I do for you?" he asked lazily. He bet himself ten gold pieces she needed a knife for the kitchen.

"Oh, uh... " Dora took a step back away from the dust. "Yes. I work here now, actually."

Kyle's pale-blue eyes actually widened. He hadn't expected that. "You do? What do you mean?" he questioned.

The girl coughed and covered her mouth. "Oh, yuck. May we please go outside to talk? This dust and smell is disgusting," she said, then went through another coughing fit.

Kyle let out a heavy sigh, thinking she was just being dramatic. Still, he didn't want to bother arguing. After a quick stretch, he walked out from behind the counter and led Dora outside.

Squinting, Kyle immediately sat on the grass and leaned back against the shop wall. He grunted and shaded his eyes with his hand.

"Ahh, that's better." Dora said with a bright smile. "You've made it very disgusting in there."

In the sunlight Kyle decided she was a six. Her insistence that his work habits were messy _probably_ had something to do with that...

Dora turned to stare down at the young man, her bright-blue eyes studying him. "I know you," she said. "You're Kyle."

Squinting at her, Kyle said, "Did you want an award?"

Raising an eyebrow, Dora replied, "And you're extremely rude." She crossed her arms.

Kyle sighed. This was taking way too long. He wanted to go back to sleep. "I think...that we got off on the wrong foot," he said. "I'm Kyle, you're Dora. We're acquainted. So, how may I help you?" He convinced himself he misheard her about working at the shop the first time. This time he paid closer attention.

"I thought you knew that I was coming by today," Dora said with a confused expression. "Mr. Romar hired me a few days ago, and I start today."

Okay, so he didn't mishear. "Why would he hire another employee? Am I fired?" he asked, his full attention _finally_ on the conversation.

"Not that I know of..." Dora said. "I'm not replacing you. I'm taking over the new section."

"New section?"

Dora stared at Kyle, as if she was trying to figure him out. "You really didn't know? Mr. Romar hired me to sell other wares here starting today. Herbs, elixirs, antidotes, and so on." She turned to look at the shop. "I honestly thought you knew."

Kyle stood up and scratched his head. "Not that I can remember... But if that's what Mr. Romar decided, then sure. Sounds like a plan."

"Yes, that is the plan."

Yawning, Kyle said, "Yeah. Welcome aboard. So, when are the items coming in?"

Dora pointed a few feet to Kyle's left at the ground. "They already did. They came in yesterday."

Kyle looked down where Dora was pointing. Sure enough, eight sealed boxes were stacked on the grass in front of the shop, with a delivery notice of the previous day. "Oh. I didn't know they were coming."

The red-haired girl stared at Kyle. "Clearly," she murmured.

Suddenly a thought entered the young adept's head. He ran a hand through his light-brown hair and said, "I think we have a problem."

Dora tilted her head. "I suppose we do, but we may be thinking of different problems. What's yours?"

"Where are you going to sell from? All the armor and weapons are packed behind the counter," he said.

The sigh didn't get past Kyle. He watched as Dora put her face in her hand. So far he wasn't too impressed with her.

"Venus give me strength..." she muttered. She used her hand to brush her wavy hair back and stared hard at Kyle. "The identical counter--I think you call it your desk--is what Mr. Romar intends on me using. You'll have to clean the counter and the space behind it," she added firmly.

"Wait, _what_?" a stunned Kyle replied. "But I'm all set up there!"

Dora broke eye-contact as she looked down in thought. "Well," she said, and crossed her arms. "It is really gross in that corner." Her blue eyes met Kyle's again and she added, "Then how about you move all the weapons and armor to that corner, and I'll take the counter on the right?"

Kyle almost laughed. "Do you realize how heavy those boxes are?"

Shrugging, Dora said, "Why don't you use Move?"

A pink tint appeared on Kyle's cheeks. "Well, I'm not very good at psynergy yet..." he admitted. "I don't really practice."

Dora narrowed her eyes. "How odd. Then I guess we have no choice but to go with the first idea, hm? I'm going to stay out here and make a list of the inventory in these boxes. I think that's the safest job I can do while you clean out the shop."

"Th-The shop?" Kyle stuttered. Did she want him to clean out the entire thing?

"It's your job to maintain a clean building, Kyle. I can't stand it in there. At _least_ get rid of all the dust in the shop while you're cleaning the counter."

A small amount of anger began coursing through Kyle as his eyebrows furrowed. Who did she think she was? He was the first one to work there. What made Dora think she could tell him what to do? Next, she'd probably ask him to--

"After you're done, you can move the boxes inside. I'll instruct you on where we should put them."

Kyle crossed his arms and looked hard at Dora.

The young lady blinked. "Huh. You're getting angry."

There was no reply from Kyle.

"Well, I'm not sorry. Most women would have run screaming from that place. You're lucky I'm even willing to work around the _door_," she said, waving him off. She turned around and moved toward the boxes. "You'll feel better about it once it's done. A man has to do what a man has to do."

Kyle glared at her back. He definitely agreed with the last thing she said. Spinning on his heel, he walked away from the shop. "_This_ man has to go talk to his employer," he said, marching in the direction of Mr. Romar's house.

**!-1- -1- -2- -3- -5-!  
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Three knocks didn't feel very satisfactory to Kyle. His good mood from earlier had dropped significantly, and he wanted to keep rapping at the door to vent. Still, Mr. Romar was a good person, and he didn't want to annoy the man by pounding on his door too much.

Kyle suddenly found himself in an odd position as he heard Mr. Romar approaching the door. It wasn't often the young man became this heated. He had always been so laid back and calm. Nothing really phased him. Why was he suddenly acting like this?

Those thoughts gave him the little push he needed to force a smile when Mr. Romar opened the door, wearing his pajamas. The balding, heavy man held a cane at his side. The few areas of hair he had left were all grey and white.

"Good morning, sir," Kyle said a little bit too quickly.

"Oh, hello Kyle! What brings you here?" Mr. Romar said in his rough voice.

Kyle thought about that for a short moment. He didn't want to start complaining right away. What he needed was...delicacy. Unfortunately for him, that wasn't his strong point.

He sighed. "Well, sir. It's about the new employee."

Mr. Romar's eyes studied Kyle. "Is that so?" he said.

A nod from Kyle. "Yeah. I don't really think we'll get along."

The sudden grin on the old man's face surprised Kyle. "She's making you clean the shop, eh?"

"Yeah! How'd you know?" Kyle asked with wide eyes.

Mr. Romar chuckled. "I know how she can get," he responded. "She can be a tough one to get along with."

"Exactly!" Kyle said. "I've only known her for five minutes or so and I can already tell that."

The grin widened on the Mr. Romar's face. "Oh? Well, let me give you a tip, Kyle. It gets easier as time goes on."

"How do you know?" Kyle asked.

"Oh...well, I've known Dora her whole life," Mr. Romar said. "She's my granddaughter."

That prompted an understanding nod from Kyle. Then he immediately froze in surprise. "Wait, granddaughter? You said you have no kids..."

Mr. Romar's grin faded into a soft smile. "Well, I did have a son, but he passed away."

Kyle put two and two together. "So Dora's dad...?"

"Yep."

"Oh." Suddenly Kyle felt like he needed to be nice to Dora. He wondered if that would be possible.

"Dora didn't know him, so she doesn't feel sadness over it. Not that I can see, anyway. He died when she was just a baby," Mr. Romar said as he stared at a spot on Kyle's chest. Kyle couldn't figure out what he might have on his shirt until he realized the old man was simply thinking. Probably reflecting on past memories.

Kyle wasn't sure if he should say something or let his boss keep on reminiscing. Fortunately, Mr. Romar looked up after a moment and smiled again. Kyle wasn't the most observant person around, but he could've sworn it was a fake smile.

"Sadly, I'm afraid you're stuck with the situation. Dora's at the age where she needs work, and there's just not many available jobs out there. Plus, selling the new goods will help the shop out," the old man said as he scratched the side of his head. "The new trade route from Vault should do wonders for us."

Kyle was a little bit more understanding now. Of what, he wasn't sure, but he knew the situation couldn't be changed. He had originally meant to offer to run the entire shop, including the new goods, on his own, but Mr. Romar was right about there not being much work out there. With a sigh, he nodded.

Mr. Romar put a hand on Kyle's shoulder. "You're a good kid, Kyle. That's why I hired you. I trust you'll be able to adjust accordingly."

The compliment helped boost Kyle's confidence. "Thanks, Mr. Romar. I'll do what I can."

He said his goodbyes and started to walk away, but then stopped just as his employer stepped back inside.

"Hey, Mr. Romar?" he called back.

The old man poked his head back outside. "Yes?"

Kyle bit his lip, wondering how he should phrase what he wanted to say. Finally he just shrugged and said, "Any tips?"

Mr. Romar laughed. "A man can never hope to truly understand a woman."

A look of confusion crossed Kyle's face. Was that the tip? Or was he admitting he didn't know any?

Still chuckling to himself, Mr. Romar disappeared back into his home. Kyle suddenly felt less confident. Mr. Romar was nice, and pleasant to be around. Dora was..._not_ like her grandfather. And Kyle suddenly realized that talking to him really didn't solve anything. At least, it didn't put anything in Kyle's favor.

He ran his hands through his hair as decided to take the long way back to the shop.

**!-1- -1- -2- -3- -5-!  
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Dora tapped on her inventory list with her pencil as she stood next to the crates. The information was written down neatly in perfect handwriting. To top it off, she got bored of not having anything to do and drew fancy designs around the edges of the paper. Shortly after that, she started humming a song that she was making up on the spot.

She sighed and looked around. When was Kyle coming back?

Placing the inventory list on the boxes, the red-haired lady decided to walk around the building to get a better feel for the place. Despite her grandfather owning it, she never did see it quite so close. It was an interesting feeling, really. She felt as though it were a part of her; something of her own. Of course, she knew well enough it _wasn't_ hers, but...that didn't mean she couldn't appreciate it.

The building was old and looked like it had been fixed up quite a bit over time. The roof had different types of covering, from a thin top layer of straw, to some dead leaves, sticks, and grass on the bottom. Dora realized that made this one of the earlier buildings to be built in the town. It was very fascinating to her.

The walls of the building were in good condition, which pleased her. The roof would need fixing soon, though. Dora couldn't imagine that it would be able to stop water from leaking in during a rainstorm. She momentarily wondered how it had stayed in such a bad shape for so long, until she remembered who was taking care of the place.

Dora rolled her eyes, even though nobody could see her. Then she finished her walk around the building until she was standing next to the open door again. She wanted to cover her mouth, just in case, but suppressed the urge.

Peering into the shop, Dora wrinkled her nose and squinted. It was so dark in the building. The windows needed cleaning, too. And what was with the smell? She bet that whatever it was, it was at Kyle's "Desk". It made her want to gag; she wasn't sure how she managed to stay in there as long as she did before.

Dora peeked over her shoulder. After once again seeing no sign of Kyle, she turned to stare at the shop. She glared and said, "Well, fine. A woman has to do what a woman has to do, too."

She reached back and tied her red hair into a ponytail. After a moment's consideration, she reached down to pull the front of her long dress up over her mouth and nose. Her bare legs and underwear were showing, but she figured she'd rather die of embarrassment than die of some horrible disease she could catch in Kyle's mess. It also helped that nobody was around to see her.

Breathing in deep the last fresh air she'd get for a few minutes, Dora bravely took a hesitant step inside the shop. Then another, and another, and continued on until she walked behind the counter that Kyle claimed was his desk.

"Ugh. Figures," she muttered into her dress. The place was a mess. Old food was scattered everywhere, papers were stacked in random piles or just in single sheets on the ground or desk. The trash container was overflowing. And not only that, but the message box was filled to the brim with notes. Dora wondered if Kyle even knew what it was.

She walked over and grabbed the top message and read it.

_Kyle,_

_The crates of goods I mentioned in the last message are coming today.  
Make sure you take them inside. Also, Dora will be coming in to start  
work tomorrow. Don't forget to welcome her with open arms._

_Romar_

Dora rolled her eyes--something that was likely to become a habit around this place. Open arms? She doubted anybody would want to be touched by Kyle until he washed himself several times in a row.

Dora grabbed the next card and ran her blue eyes over it. It was just as she thought. Most of the recent messages mentioned her employment and what she'd be doing, when she'd start working, and so on. Kyle probably hadn't checked the messages for weeks. The messages were sent by her grandfather early in the morning, apparently before Kyle started working. Or maybe Kyle was just asleep when the messages were brought by--Dora wouldn't be surprised about that.

Sighing, Dora looked around the rest of the counter. A few drawings that were sitting by the chair caught her attention. She picked the top one up and stared at it. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it wasn't bad. The half-finished drawing of what looked like a girl walking by a river at least had the anatomy and perspective right. She thought he could tone down the huge bust, though.

With a smirk, she put the paper down. That wasn't shocking based on what she had already found out about him. She had noted his eyes often traveled down to her chest when they spoke earlier--probably without him even realizing it. It was difficult for her to stay as professional as she had. Kyle would definitely need a slap one day. Probably sooner than later.

Suddenly, Dora heard the door creak. She gasped and spun around in surprise, dropping her dress in the process to cover herself.

"I didn't expect to see you in here," Kyle said, amused.

Dora coughed and slowly walked out from behind the counter. "Funny," she said. "I didn't expect to--" she ended up coughing some more, and decided she didn't want to be in the shop anymore. Raising her finger, as if telling Kyle to wait, she walked out of the shop with her breath held. When she was successfully outside, she turned around and put her hands on her hips.

An eyebrow slowly arched on Kyle's forehead.

"Oh, don't look at me that way. It's horrible in there," she said angrily.

Shrugging, Kyle replied, "I don't mind it."

Dora clenched her teeth and scowled at Kyle. "_Normal_ people mind."

Kyle narrowed his eyes and glared back.

Surprisingly, Dora was the first to break the eye contact after the two stared at each other for a minute. "Look, I'll ask you nicely. Will you _please_ clean the counter, and get rid of the dust? I need to get set up," she said. It almost sickened her how she sounded. Begging wasn't something she liked to resort to, but when she looked at Kyle, she was rapidly thinking she might have to.

In an unprecedented act, Kyle actually gave in. "Yeah, fine."

Dora opened her mouth and her eyebrows rose a few inches. "Huh?"

"I'll do it."

There had to be a catch. "Why?"

Kyle walked up to the door and looked right into Dora's eyes. "I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for the old man."

"Oh," was all Dora responded with. She couldn't argue with that.

Nothing more was said between them as Kyle set to work. He took out an old box of cleaning supplies and started with the counters. Seeing the rag after one swipe, Dora quickly realized it wouldn't be enough. She headed home and grabbed her own cleaning supplies and several rags. Before she left to hurry back to the shop, a thought came to her. Rounding off her supplies, she grabbed a jar of water, and then departed from the house with everything stuffed into her arms.

Arriving back at the shop, she was pleasantly surprised to see Kyle still working. She wondered if maybe he wasn't as lazy as he appeared.

"I brought more things to help with the cleaning," the young lady said as she placed the box of more up-to-date supplies in the doorway.

Kyle was busy searching for a broom. "Yeah, thanks," he said without looking at her.

"And water," Dora added, placing the medium-sized jar on the ground next to the box.

A dirty look was shot from Kyle. "Now you want me to clean with water, too?"

Dora was taken aback for a moment. "N-No. Idiot. The water's for you to drink," she replied defensively.

Kyle's eyes softened. "Oh. Okay."

As expected, Dora got no apology. She didn't think the idea to apologize had even occurred to him. Still, being sorry wasn't necessary as long as he was cleaning.

"I'm going to work on the outside of the windows. Maybe you should start on the inside of them; it'll help with the cleaning if you can see what you're doing," Dora said as she yanked a rag out of the box and moved toward the first window.

Kyle stared at the windows and scratched his chin. He didn't really want them clean, since he enjoyed being able to nap in the darkness. Curtains would be a good investment for his section, he decided. Dora wouldn't let him keep one window dirty and one clean.

As expected, not a single customer showed up during the afternoon. That allowed Kyle and Dora to work without interruptions, and soon enough the place was looking halfway decent. Once Kyle had dusted most of the place, Dora felt safe enough to walk in and give him a hand with the cleaning. She insisted he clean up his desk himself, however.

"Where am I supposed to put it all?" Kyle asked, staring at his mess.

Sweeping the other side of the room, Dora said, "I'd say most of it is garbage."

"Garbage?"

"Yeah--you know; trash, litter, refuse, waste?"

Kyle's expression turned sour and he glared at Dora. "I'm not stupid. I meant; what do I have here that's garbage?"

Dora couldn't tell if he was joking or not. She decided to go with her gut feeling and said, "Uh, well... There's the half-finished food that's laying everywhere."

Kyle glanced at all the food that had several bites in it, then had been set off to the side. "Well...I was planning on saving it all for later."

Unable to help it, Dora put her hand over her face and sighed. He sounded serious. She was in absolute amazement at the guy. "You must want to die an early death."

"No, not really."

Dora set the broom against the wall and walked over to where Kyle was. "That food will make you sick if you eat it after leaving it like that for so long," she said. Was she going to have to teach Kyle how to eat, now? Where the heck did he grow up at?

Kyle shrugged. "It hasn't been making me sick."

Her jaw dropping, Dora exclaimed, "You mean you've been eating it?!"

"Yeah," Kyle responded simply, followed by a nod.

Dora studied him again. She found herself doing that often. The young lady continuously found herself increasingly disappointed in him. She felt sorry for whoever would end up marrying the lazy slob. It hadn't even been a full day and she already wanted to give up on him. There was almost no hope.

Kyle suddenly flashed a grin. "Nah, I'm just joking. I'll go grab a box for the garbage."

As he left, Dora found herself speechless. The lazy slob tricked her. Here she was, _worried_ about his health, and he returns the favor by fooling her and making her worry even more! He was such a...a...

"Jerk," she heard herself mutter as he walked out the door.

**!-1- -1- -2- -3- -5-!  
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Kyle retained his grin for several minutes after he left the shop. That had been extremely satisfying. The expression on Dora's face was priceless, too. He actually wanted to sit down and sketch it--maybe even frame it on the shop wall. _That_ would get under her skin.

Then he remembered Dora's father, and how she had grown up without him. Maybe he was being too mean? He wasn't exactly used to handling people who had dead relatives. What if he pushed it too much? Where was the line?

And yet, Mr. Romar _did_ say she's not upset by the fact that her father died. She was eighteen years old or so, and her dad died when she was a baby. That's a lot of time to get over it. Kyle needed to fight back somewhat, otherwise she'd assume full control of the shop and boss him around just for the sake of not letting him sit.

For a fraction of a second he wondered what the benefits of quitting would be. Then he stopped that train of thought and mentally kicked himself; what would that accomplish? Then Dora would win, and he'd be out of a job. He still lived with his parents, after all. He needed a job so he could pay for a house to be built. How would he reach that point if he quits when something goes wrong?

Kyle sighed. His job had gone from the least complicated thing in his life to the _most_ complicated in the span of a few hours simply by adding a girl to the mix. He was amazed at how that worked. The thought led him back to Mr. Romar's "advice". The notion that a man can never truly understand a woman seemed to be dead on the mark. He wasn't sure he could ever comprehend the pushy redhead. It was far from worth the effort to try too hard.

Upon reaching his house, Kyle searched through some junk until he found an empty crate that was in moderately good condition. He carried the crate outside, set it on the grass, and then grabbed the top edge with one hand. With a slow pace, he began to walk lazily back to the shop, hoping that by the time he got back there Dora would have made a lot of progress.

When he finally reached the shop, he was surprised to find Dora going through his papers. That wasn't exactly the progress he had in mind.

"What are you doing?" he asked curiously as she shuffled through his drawings. He couldn't help but notice the amused smirk plastered on her face.

"Organizing," was all Dora said.

"Why are you organizing my stuff?"

Dora looked up at Kyle. "I thought it might be helpful. Venus knows you couldn't possibly do it by yourself."

Kyle's eyebrows creased in annoyance. "I could..."

"Shall I organize them by date, or by breast size?" she joked as she leafed through the drawings.

A few seconds later Kyle yanked the drawings out of Dora's hands. "I'll move my things," he snapped.

Dora's sly smile remained, despite Kyle's outburst. "That's fair enough," she said as she walked around the counter. "I finished sweeping."

Kyle felt Dora's eyes on his back as he gathered all of his drawings into one large stack. He didn't really want to do that, but he suddenly felt very vulnerable with them sitting out there for Dora to see.

"I suppose I'll bring in a few of the lighter crates while you work on cleaning there," he heard her say behind him.

"Actually," Kyle said quickly. "It's time for my lunch break." He sat down in his chair and pulled out a bag from underneath the counter.

Dora, who had already stepped out the door, reappeared in the doorway and said, "But we aren't done yet!"

Kyle smiled down at his food as he pulled it out. He wasn't the best cook, but his constant work allowed him to get some decent food. Fresh bread, cooked meat, ripe fruit, and a few treats for desert. He also had a glass bottle of water, which came in handy since he had finished off the jar of water that Dora had brought him. "Sorry, I don't know what to tell you," he responded. Eyeing his meal, he reached for the treats and ate them first.

Placing her hands on her hips, Dora frowned in disapprovement. "Why are you being so complicated?" she inquired. "We'll be done in another hour."

"And I'll start up again when I'm done eating," Kyle said with a full mouth. He really didn't care if she understood what he said or not. He leaned back in his chair, swallowed, and said, "Why don't you run home and eat or something? Might do you some good."

Dora took a deep, calming breath. "I prefer to reward myself after a job well done. If we eat now we'll get lazy and it will go slower."

Kyle shrugged. "Lady, it's slow around here _all_ the time. You'll learn that."

Dora scowled. "You idiot. That's why we're trying to improve the place as quickly as possible--so that we can pick up more business!" she exclaimed. Clearly the calming breath didn't help.

Sighing, Kyle closed his eyes. He really wasn't in the mood to argue. Why couldn't she just leave him alone to eat in peace? Every woman should know that a self-respecting man worked better on a full stomach. "I highly doubt your little herbs will bring in more business," he said. It was a real thought he had, and he hadn't meant it as an insult, but apparently it came out that way. Dora's eyes narrowed and she stormed out of the building.

Kyle stared at the doorway as he slowly chewed some bread in his mouth. He suddenly remembered the adage "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned", and wondered if maybe he had just made things worse for himself.

The young adept forcefully pushed those thoughts aside and went back to his meal. It was break time; he could worry about all that later.

**!-1- -1- -2- -3- -5-!  
!-8- -1- -3- -2- -1-!**

Dora sat on a stump a few yards away and tried to wipe her dress clean. It had collected a lot of dirt and dust from the work, and looked like she had worn it for weeks. She made a mental note to not wear a dress anymore until the shop was completely clean. It wasn't exactly fancy or anything, but she still would prefer not to ruin a perfectly good dress.

Groaning in irritation, she gave up and leaned forward and rested her chin in her hands. The day was not going at all like she had expected. As she woke up that morning, she had hoped to be set up and ready to sell within an hour or two. It had been almost four hours and she wasn't even close to ready. At the rate they were going, she would have to stay late setting up. She had been hoping to make a nice celebratory dinner with her family and boyfriend, too...

But Kyle... Dora frowned and looked back at the shop. What was his problem? It was all _his_ mess. She shouldn't even have to clean it up, yet she'd been helping him most of the time and he _still_ had an attitude toward her. Did he treat everyone like that, or did she do something wrong? All she was doing was making him work on a responsibility he agreed to take on. It's not like he wasn't getting _paid_ for it...

What would it take? She didn't want to complain to her grandfather--after all, Kyle had reluctantly done some cleaning, so there _was_ hope. Dora just had to figure out how to motivate the man. It would be a personal challenge of hers, and not something she should hand off so easily to her grandfather to fix. With a mindset like that, she was sure she could change things.

With a rough nod, she stood to her feet and marched back to the store. Her mind was made up; she was certain she had an inkling on how Kyle's thought process worked. Maybe she could use that to her advantage. Walking into the store, she saw Kyle was still slowly eating his food.

"Hey, what's your favorite meal?" she asked firmly.

Kyle's expression made him look like he was staring at a trap. "Huh?"

"What's your favorite thing to eat?" She wasn't at all surprised she had to repeat herself for him.

They stared at each other for a few minutes. It seemed like Kyle refused to speak. Dora sighed. "Look. We need to find a middle ground here. I appreciate you helping clean the store--for my grandfather's sake--but we also need to get along or we're going to have problems in the future." She didn't really believe they'd _ever_ get along, but at least finding some middle ground would be satisfactory.

Kyle raised an eyebrow and said, "What does that have to do with my favorite food?"

Time to turn on the charm. Dora walked up to the counter and gave a sweet smile. "I'll make you a deal. If you work hard for me this week, I'll prepare your lunch every day out of whatever you want," she proposed.

The idea seemed to appeal to Kyle. Dora could just see the wheels in his head turning. "And," she said quietly, as if it was a secret, "as a bonus, at the end of the week I'll make you a big dinner as a reward. Whatever you request, as long as it's within reason."

Kyle seemed to be all for it. "And I just have to finish cleaning the shop?"

Dora almost lost her smile, but she managed to hold it in place. It was an important moment. "No," she said with a quick shake of her head. "You have to do everything I request that involves our job here. Also, lunch is only to be eaten when I say so. I promise I won't make you wait too long for it, however."

Now with all the information clear to Kyle, he seemed to be hesitant. "Are you a good cook?" he questioned.

Dora's smile grew. "The best," she said with just a slight amount of arrogance. "In fact, if you don't like the first lunch, I'll give you one chance to call off the deal."

Kyle looked down and appeared to be deeply considering the proposal. Dora wondered just what happened to him that led him to be so lazy. Most hard-working men would take the deal right away.

"Just this week?" Kyle finally asked.

Dora nodded. "Yep."

"Can I add one more thing aside from the meals?"

The female adept really did drop her smile that time. "They're not enough?"

Kyle shrugged. "They are, but I'd like some curtains too if it's not too much trouble."

Dora was dumbfounded. "Huh? Curtains? What for?" she sputtered out.

"The window," Kyle stated, pointing to his side of the room. He then added, "The sun is too bright for me, so I thought I could use the curtains to dim the room when business is slow."

A perplexed expression crossed Dora's face. After considering the other benefits of the request, she couldn't deny him. The room desperately needed more color. His reason was a little..._disappointing_, to say the least. But at least it would improve the shop overall. Her smile returned. "That's a good idea. I'll make a set for both windows."

A sigh of relief came from Kyle, then he chuckled. "And here I thought you'd hit me for being sexist and assuming you could sew."

Hearing that, Dora suddenly did want to hit, or at least scold him. But she restrained herself, since she was a little embarrassed she hadn't caught that herself. "I'm letting it slide this time," she said, looking away. Then, to change the subject, she asked, "Are you done eating yet?"

Kyle looked down at his meal. "Nope. You interrupted me. I'll get right back to it."

Impatience flooded through Dora. However, due to her new mindset of trying to get along with Kyle, the best she could do was ask him to "please hurry", and then she wandered off before she was unable to resist telling him to stop thinking with his stomach. After all, that was her key to using him for the next week.

**!-1- -1- -2- -3- -5-!  
!-8- -1- -3- -2- -1-!**

Much to Kyle's delight, the rest of the work that day went by in a blur. After throwing away all of the garbage, it was simply a matter of moving his stuff over to the weapons and armor counter, and then bringing in the crates that were sitting outside for Dora. She had opted to do the rest at her new counter. Probably because she didn't trust Kyle's idea of clean, but as long as it allowed him to do less work, it wasn't a problem for him.

After that, it was simply a matter of lounging around and watching Dora clean up her area. The counter Kyle was somewhat forced to move to was already empty except for a vase, so wiping all the dust away was easy. Behind the counter, armor and weapons were stacked in boxes and on stands for had been there since Kyle started working, and so far he hadn't had to restock. There just weren't enough customers.

Before he knew it, it was closing time. Dora had half of the crates unpacked as Kyle stood up and stretched, preparing to close the shop. He was about to tell her it was time to lock up when a black-haired guy about their age walked in.

Kyle was about to ask him how he could help them when the man said, "There's my hard worker!" Grinning, he walked up to Dora.

Dora smiled back. "We're closing soon, silly. You'll have to come back tomorrow." She gave a wink and walked around to give him a light kiss on the lips.

The man didn't take her eyes off of him. "I know. I'm here to walk you home."

Kyle just watched with amusement. He was more entertained that Dora somehow had a boyfriend than by the fact that they didn't seem to remember he was there.

"That's sweet, Hun, but I need to stay a bit late tonight. We had, er..." she looked at Kyle, "a slow start."

The man looked over and noticed Kyle for the first time. "Ah, hey there," he said with a small wave. "The name's James."

Kyle gave him a nod. "I'm Kyle."

James smiled. "Good to meet you." Then he turned back to Dora and said, "So...that's a cancellation of the celebratory dinner?" He gave a joking frown and whimper.

Kyle suppressed a gag, and instead decided to stare at the floor.

"I'm afraid so. We'll postpone it until tomorrow night," said Dora, hugging him.

A few more things were said between the two of them that Kyle really had no interest in, so he went about his business pretending to be organizing his counter until James left.

When the man shut the door behind him, Kyle walked around the counter and tossed Dora the key to the shop. "Looks like you're locking up."

Dora grabbed the key and walked it back over to him. "I have a copy," she said, looking him in his pale blue eyes. "Kyle, you _are_ serious about this deal, right?"

Snapping his finger's, Kyle suddenly said, "Oh, right, I almost forgot!" He strode over to the counter and grabbed a folded paper he had tucked under the vase. He hadn't given it to Dora earlier because he didn't want to stop her while she worked, just in case she got any more bright ideas about him doing something extra. "Here. It's what I want to eat for each day of the week."

Taking the paper, Dora studied it for a few seconds. Her lips formed an amused smile and she said, "You don't get much variety in your meals, do you?"

Shrugging, Kyle said, "You said my favorites. Those are my favorites."

Dora tucked the paper away in her dress pocket. "Okay, fair enough. I'll see you early tomorrow then."

"Yep," he nodded, and turned to walk out.

Before he could disappear, Dora called, "And Kyle?"

Kyle turned his head. "Yeah?"

"Wear some light clothes tomorrow. It's going to be a hot day."

Raising an eyebrow, Kyle just nodded. He didn't want to drag things on any longer. The sun was starting to go down, and he didn't want to miss the only hour of sunlight he had free during the day.

As he walked home, Kyle concentrated on the last thing Dora said. It wasn't hot in the shop, so what would he need light clothes for? He was a bit worried, since he had pretty much agreed to be her slave for the week. He didn't know what she had planned the next day, but he was certain he wouldn't enjoy it.

* * *

**End:**_ Chapter One_

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

**_How Heroes Are Made_****  
By Joker's Specter**

**Chapter Two**

* * *

Dora hummed to herself as she unlocked the door to the shop. She was greeted by a refreshing smell, and couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with satisfaction. The previous night she had replaced the dead and dying plants with some flowers she had found outside, and overnight she left the windows cracked. It had done wonders for the gloomy place.

The red-haired adept had a bag slung over her shoulder, which swayed back and forth as she strode over to the item counter, where she had worked hard the previous night to finish her area. Her eyes practically sparkled at the beautiful sight before her; she had almost forgotten how perfect she displayed all of the items that were to go on sale.

Well, perfect within her means. It still irked her that she had to put them on boxes or the counter. She wondered if she could convince Kyle to build some shelves for her. That train of thought led her to wonder if Kyle could even _build_ shelves.

She stopped herself. That would be a road she refused to go down today. Nope--putting the previous day behind them, on that bright new day they would be _co-workers_. Proper, professional, and responsible. Dora would shape the lazy man into a respectable employee by the end of the week if it killed her, and she knew insults and negative thoughts would be a step backward. Amusing, maybe, but not good for progress.

Slinging the bag onto the counter, the young female adept gazed around the brightly-lit shop and made a mental note of things that still had to be done inside. The most prominent issue was the random boxes sitting around the room filled with swords and assorted pieces of armor. Those would most definitely have to be stored behind the counter with the others, or at the sides of the shop.

She was torn from her thoughts when she heard the sound of a key being inserted into the lock. Spinning around, she said loudly, "It's open!"

While she was expecting Kyle to walk in, she was surprised to see one of her grandfather's friends. "Oh, it's you, George."

George was a middle-aged man, and quite the health nut. He smiled and gave a polite nod to Dora. "Hello Dora. I've got a message from your grandfather," he said while holding out a piece of paper.

Dora smiled and walked up to take it. "So you're the one who delivers his messages."

"Yes, I jog by your grandfather's house each day, so I've become his unofficial messenger boy," he said with a chuckle.

With that said, he began jogging in place and told Dora he had to be off. She smiled and wished him the best as he shut the door behind him.

Dora walked to her chair, sat down, and read the message to herself.

_Kyle,_

_I hope all is going well with Dora. Don't let her tough exterior fool you--she's actually very sweet. Use both of those to your advantage and make the shop prosperous again! Best of luck, and do try to get along with her._

_-Romar_

A small smile appeared on Dora's lips. That was just like her grandfather. She walked the note over to Kyle's counter and placed it down where he would see it. Brushing strands of red hair out of her eyes, she scanned the shop once more. Her excitement at helping manage a business was definitely tapping into her perfectionist attitude.

She found herself enjoying that thought, but was interrupted when Kyle waltzed sleepily into the building.

Her smile was replaced with a frown when she saw what he was wearing: a leather vest over a long-sleeved shirt, and some long, faded blue pants. "I thought I informed you that you should wear light clothes today. Why didn't you?"

"Huh?" Kyle murmured. Then he looked down at his attire. "Oh. I forgot."

Dora pointed to her own clothes; she was wearing white shorts and a lavender short-sleeved button-up shirt. "We're both going to work outside for a while today, Kyle."

"Oh," he said.

"It's going to be very hot today," she added, and folded her arms.

"Oh," he repeated, then yawned. "Yeah, it will be."

He looked around the room with a sleepy expression, then suddenly looked back at Dora as if she had just hit him. "Wait, work outside?"

The young woman nodded. "Yep. We're fixing the entire roof this afternoon. Some straw is being delivered later today," she announced.

Kyle groaned as his shoulders and head slumped. "I don't know how you can decide to do that by _choice_," he muttered.

"It's by _necessity_," Dora said sternly. "We have a lot of valuable goods in here, and it would ruin them if it rained and leaked in here."

"Well... I just put pots or something under leaks. I don't let the weapons or armor get wet," Kyle said, followed by boisterous yawn.

Dora had to at least give him credit for that. "Even so, the roof needs to be repaired sometime, and we're just the people to do it."

The look Kyle gave her made her feel like she was some weird creature. She finally broke eye contact after it became too much, and looked out the window. "Besides," she said, "it was part of our deal that you'd help, and it will benefit the shop in the long run."

Dora heard Kyle shuffle over to his counter and sit down at the chair behind it. She turned to look at him just as he gave a slack-jawed look at the vase, which now had flowers sprouting from it. His eyes moved from the vase to the note in front of him. As he read it, his expression screwed up into something that looked like a man who had run out of options. The girl suddenly wondered if her grandfather had planned the message as an extra assistance to her endeavors that day. It was kinda cute that Kyle respected her grandfather so much. But what would she have to do to get him to respect her, too?

"Later today, right?" Kyle inquired after a minute of silence passed between them.

"Right."

Kyle laid his arms and head down on the counter. "Okay, then wake me when the straw gets here."

Dora's eyebrows furrowed in irritation. She was about to tell him to stay awake, but immediately thought better of it; it would be a slow process no matter what she did, so it was best to take it easy on him at first. Fixing the roof would be difficult enough for someone as slothful as him. Besides, what good would it do to tire him out too much before his only chance to reject the deal at lunchtime?

With a soft sigh, she walked over to her counter and began writing up a list of things she wanted the two of them to finish before the week was over.

**!-C- -A- -T- -C- -H-!  
!-B- -E- -A- -D- -S-!**

Kyle awoke with a start to a wonderful aroma overpowering him. His mouth immediately began salivating as he sat up to find the source.

"Lunch time," Dora said from right beside him.

Almost falling out of his chair in surprise, Kyle regained his composure and looked at the plate Dora was holding. He didn't have time to wonder how he slept all the way through to lunch, because he was greeted with a beautiful sight. On the dish was exactly what he had requested she make him for lunch: a large hamburger with all the fixings. And to make things even better, it was still steaming as if she had just finished cooking it.

"If you eat this and like it, the deal stays on. Agreed?" Dora asked, holding the plate just in front of his face.

Kyle was torn. She was manipulating him--that much was obvious. But...she was doing such a good job at it. The hamburger looked like it had been crafted by some sort of god of cuisine.

"It really is a waste of my talents," Dora said haughtily. "A hamburger is simple. What's more, a hamburger every day of the _week_ is going to be like a walk through my front yard."

Kyle took the plate from her hands. "How did you keep it hot?" he asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

Dora smiled. "James is a Mars adept. I had him drop by while you were asleep and he heated it up. He just left moments ago," she said with a proud smile.

Well, Kyle had to admit that Dora certainly knew her way around food. And to top it off, she went to the trouble to heat it up for him. How could he pass the deal, now? She had him right where she wanted him. What a manipulative person...

"Okay," he relented, "if I enjoy this, then the deal stays on."

Placing a jug full of water on the table, Dora said, "Great! Eat up then. The straw isn't here yet, but there are a few light things we can do until then." She wasn't even hiding the fact that she knew he'd enjoy it.

Kyle made a mental note to eat slow, so he could have a long lunch. However, after taking one bite into the hamburger, he found it _extremely_ difficult. After eating his own cooked food for so long, he was in pure bliss from a meal that had been prepared by a self-proclaimed expert. And what an expert she was! Despite how much she tended to get on his nerves, he had to admit that he was suddenly liking Dora a lot more than previously.

Before he knew it, the food was gone, and he was left with a satisfied stomach. If a hamburger tasted that good, he wondered what Dora could do if she was _really_ trying.

"Done so soon?" Dora inquired with a knowing smile. "It was good, right?"

Kyle stared at her, then narrowed his eyes. "You're pretty evil, you know that?"

Dora gave a mock gasp. "Me?" she asked innocently.

Sighing, the defeated man stood up and stretched. He knew she was anything _but_ innocent. "Just...try not to make it back-breaking work. I'm not a miracle worker," he said with a wary look.

There was a glowing smile on Dora's face as she handed Kyle the list she wrote up earlier. "Here's what we're doing, and in that order."

Kyle scanned over the list with his blue eyes. The first thing on the list was definitely surprising. His eyes met Dora's, who seemed to be gauging his reaction.

"Learn Move?"

"You bet," the redhead said with a smirk. She poked Kyle's chest, "You're one of the few people our age who _can't_ use Move. I'm going to teach you."

Kyle backed away a few inches from her finger. "Why?" he asked hesitantly.

"It'll make things easier this week if you can use your psynergy reserves as well as your physical strength. Trust me."

Studying her bright eyes, Kyle sensed something devious in them. As soon as that thought hit him, it clicked. "Oh, I get it. Since it's going to affect our work, I can't back out of it," he said half-heartedly. She was craftier than he expected.

"Exactly," she said, her smile growing into a wide grin. Kyle couldn't figure out if her smile made him more nervous, or the fact that she seemed to be happy that he was actually cooperating. He predicted she'd be taking advantage of it a lot for the next week.

He crossed his arms and muttered, "So this is what I've gotten myself into..."

"You'll survive," Dora said sweetly. She grabbed his shoulders, startling him, and spun him around. "That," she said, jabbing her finger in the direction of a particularly heavy box filled with many pieces of armor, "is what you're going to practice on. We want it against the your side of the wall--not in the middle of the room."

"Why not?"

Dora walked around in front of him and stood by the box. "Because we're going to lay a rug down in the middle of the room, that's why."

Just how much was she planning on doing? "Don't I get a say in this?" Kyle asked meekly.

There was a short pause for Dora to consider it, but it didn't take her long. "No, not for this week."

And before Kyle could protest again, Dora began her instructions on how to properly use the psynergy "Move".

**!-C- -A- -T- -C- -H-!  
!-B- -E- -A- -D- -S-!**

The day went by very quickly for Dora. Of course, she knew from experience that if you kept yourself busy it would be like that. As Kyle practiced, she completed anything else she thought would need cleaning on the inside. The place practically sparkled when she was done. She couldn't resist having a beaming smile plastered on her face the entire time; the shop was looking a hundred times better.

By the time the straw had shown up, Kyle was making little progress. He was having a hard time summoning enough psynergy to move the heavy crate. It wasn't from lack of effort, though. Dora could see beads of sweat forming on his face as he continuously worked on the skill. When she told him it was time to go work on the roof, he had only moved the box a couple inches.

"That's...a lot harder than I thought it would be," Kyle admitted as they walked outside.

Dora gave him an exasperated look. "Well, that's why people train for more than a day to learn such moves. It takes some less fortunate people _years_. I never expected you to learn it in one day."

Turning to look at her with a questioning look on his face, Kyle asked, "Can you do it?"

"Yep, though moving heavier things drains me very quickly."

Kyle scratched his head. "How did you learn?"

Dora led him behind the shop building, where the straw was piled and a ladder was leaning against the wall. She explained that James had brought the ladder by earlier and set it up for them.

"To answer your question," she said, "I started with something smaller and gradually increased the size every week."

Kyle's face fell as the realization started to sink in. "_Week?_" he exclaimed, stunned. "It takes weeks to learn this thing?"

"Months if you want to do it well," Dora corrected. "How come you never learned? You're acting like a non-adept." She started climbing up the ladder to the roof.

Shrugging, Kyle said, "I've never felt the need to."

"That's silly."

Kyle began his ascent up the ladder as well, wondering why they weren't grabbing any straw to take up. "Maybe to you."

Dora smiled at him when he reached the top. "Well, that's okay. Practice on those heavier boxes and you'll have it down much faster than usual," she said happily. Before Kyle could ask why, she reached her hand out toward the straw and cast Move. The entire pile of straw was ensnared by the skill, and within moments she had it on the roof.

"See how much easier it makes things?" Dora said. She was breathing a bit heavily, and her eyes looked a little tired. Her psynergy reserves never were the best, unfortunately.

"I...guess..."

Dora pointed to the roof. "Now that I think of it, before you continue working on the boxes, maybe working with straw will help you. I think you should try grabbing some straw and lowering it into place here."

Kyle shrugged. "That might work."

Stepping out of the way, Dora sat down to catch her breath.

"Okay, here goes," Kyle announced, holding his hand out.

His face twisted as he concentrating, summoning up all the psynergy he could, just as he had done with the boxes. As soon as he cast Move, a chill ran through Dora as she watched things unfold before her. The _entire_ straw pile was hoisted into the air, and flew toward Kyle with an intense speed, plowing into his chest and throwing him backward.

Grunting in pain, Kyle's eyes were wide in surprise as he shot backward. His body reflexively curled up while it headed right for the ground. Panicking, Dora moved with speed she didn't realize was in her; she jumped forward, jerked her hand toward Kyle, and shouted, "_Catch!_"

The young man's frightened body suddenly froze in place, hovering ten feet in the air. His eyes blinked a few times in disbelief, and he looked up at Dora, who was kneeling near the edge of the roof and shaking visibly.

"Hold on..." Dora muttered, struggling. She hadn't practiced Catch all that much, and had only moved things as heavy as a man a few times with any of her psynergy abilities. Not to mention having just moved a big pile of straw, it was starting to take its toll on her psynergy reserves as well as her physical energy. The heat bearing down on her wasn't helping, and white spots started dotting her vision as sweat began trickling down her forehead. She bit her lip to stay conscious--she needed to stay awake. Just long enough to put him down...

Taking a deep breath, Dora slowly lowered Kyle to the ground. Once he was safely on the grass, she released the skill and dropped her arm. Panting heavily, she couldn't resist as a combination of the heat and what she had just done caused a wave of darkness to wash over her, and soon she lost all consciousness.

**!-C- -A- -T- -C- -H-!  
!-B- -E- -A- -D- -S-!**

"I wouldn't worry about a thing, Kyle," said the Great Healer. "You go ahead and go back to work. She'll be okay."

Kyle looked past the Healer at Dora, who was resting peacefully on a bed in the Sanctum. Her face had paled and she was still sweating heavily. Kyle had only just carried her there; how did the Great Healer know she'd be okay without doing a thorough inspection? He wasn't too convinced.

The elderly man chuckled to himself when he saw Kyle's worried expression remain. "Don't worry about a thing, boy. This type of thing isn't rare among adepts," he said. "I realize you may not use psynergy much, but I see this at least once a month, and it usually increases during the hot days of summer."

"So...she just needs rest?" Kyle asked, looking at the Healer again.

"Indeed."

"You're sure?"

The Great Healer smiled reassuringly. "I would bet all of Vale on it."

Kyle felt a little relieved. "Okay, good... It's sort've my fault she's here, so..."

The Great Healer held his hand up. "Reasons do not matter to me," he interrupted. "I'll leave that between you two once she regains consciousness. She should be fine in a few hours."

Kyle nodded to show he understood. "Okay. Well, I guess I'll be going then... I need to close up soon."

Smiling, the Great Healer said goodbye and then turned around to walk away. However, a thought came to Kyle, and he stopped the man.

"Actually," Kyle said. "I have one more thing on my mind... Don't you think her family should know she's here?"

The Great Healer turned back to Kyle. "I've sent someone to contact her mother and young James."

"Okay," said Kyle. It was good to know these people knew what they were doing. He wanted to stay a bit longer--he still didn't feel right leaving her like that after she saved him from probably several broken bones. Still, it couldn't be helped. The shop was left unattended, and there was nothing he could do to help by staying anyway.

The young adept walked out of the Sanctum and headed back to the shop with an uneasy mind. What did he do wrong when he tried to use Move on the straw? He only meant to get a little bit of straw, yet he managed to sling the entire pile right at him. He was more convinced than ever that he just wasn't good with psynergy. And now he had put his life in danger and made Dora black out because she had to save him. Things never went well with him and psynergy...

When Kyle reached the shop, he saw that it was just as he had left it. Fortunately for him, Vale didn't really have thieves, so nobody broke in while he was away. A good thing for any potential thieves, too, because he wasn't in a good mood.

Sighing, he looked up at the unfinished roof. The pile of straw was still up there, dropped right where he was forced to release the psynergy. Another two hours and it would be time to close up shop... He thought back to Dora, unconscious at the Sanctum, and how she acted so quickly to rescue him. Her speed in saving him surprised him almost as much as him being knocked off the roof.

Kyle scanned his eyes around the roof from where he was standing. He estimated that it would take a little under two hours with both him and Dora working. If he wanted to do it himself, he'd have to stay late, probably until the sun went down.

He bit his lip. "Well...better get started," he muttered as he grabbed the ladder and started climbing. He owed Dora big time.

**!-C- -A- -T- -C- -H-!  
!-B- -E- -A- -D- -S-!**

Despite having a splitting headache the next day, Dora still forced herself to get up on time and make it to work. She predicted it would be a slow day for both her and Kyle, since she was in hardly any mood to work. That being the case, she expected Kyle would get away with sleeping most of the day, aside from maybe a few hours of practicing his Move psynergy.

Dora frowned as a thought crossed her mind. She had long since realized it was _her_ fault that Kyle had cast "Move" improperly on the straw. She made him practice with the large, heavy box beforehand for his first attempts, so switching to something as light as straw would screw up the balance if Kyle didn't know how to adjust the psynergy properly. Since he had practiced with the heavy box, which required a lot of strength, he had used too much power on the straw.

The redhaired girl sighed. Would Kyle even want to practice anymore after she explained that to him? She felt obligated to tell him, of course, so that was unavoidable. If he didn't want to practice psynergy anymore after that, Dora hardly could force him after he had been put in a dangerous situation because of her.

She felt incredibly stupid. It was no wonder adepts generally learned from smaller objects to larger. What was she doing trying to teach something she hadn't completely mastered herself?

As she walked down the path to the shop, she realized that she was at least grateful her immediate reaction could save him. Even if she was still feeling the effects of trying to catch an adult man in mid-air with psynergy, it was worth it to save him from harm. Despite not being on the best of terms with Kyle, a small sense of pride and joy came over her when she thought of that. Her happiness began and ended there, however... Everything else weighed down on her heavily.

Pushing her troubled thoughts away for the moment, Dora broke through the trees and walked toward the shop with her eyes on the ground. It wouldn't do good to act down around Kyle, she told herself. He was her co-worker, and she wanted to keep a professional image around him. The girl's hope was that it would rub off on him.

Dora looked up and reached into her bag to grab her key. It took her a moment to notice it, but she did a double-take when she realized the shop was _glowing_. At least, it looked like that to her. She squinted her eyes and realized that it was just the roof that had been much improved. All of the straw was laid out and tucked in properly, and the golden color shone in such a way that made almost the entire building appear brand new.

The young adept was speechless. She couldn't quite comprehend the situation. The pieces just didn't fit in her mind. Did _Kyle_ do it, or was she hallucinating? Kyle was just so lazy...she couldn't picture him doing it no matter how hard she tried to think about it.

Confused, she walked at a hurried pace to the shop door and found it unlocked. She dropped her key back into her bag and went inside, only to get yet another surprise by finding Kyle already at his desk.

Granted, he was sound asleep...but he was _there_, thirty minutes early. She hadn't pegged him as the type to arrive early--especially after he showed up fifteen minutes late the previous day.

Dora walked up and softly shook his shoulder. "Kyle," she said with a gentle tone. She paused for a moment, then tried again when he didn't wake up. "Kyle, wake up." She shook him a second time, which jolted him from his slumber.

Kyle's eyes slowly opened, revealing them to be red and tired. He looked like he hadn't got much sleep at all. "Mm," he groaned as he sat up in his chair.

"Good morning. I'm surprised to see you here early."

When he saw who was talking to him, Kyle's eyes widened just a bit more. "Oh, you're okay..."

Dora's cheeks reddened. She was suddenly feeling embarrassed about having passed out, especially while on the job. "Er, yeah... I regained consciousness last night," she said, avoiding his sleepy gaze.

Kyle yawned quietly. "I'm glad..." He cleared his throat and scratched his head. "Well, I suppose the best way to do this is to just say it outright--I'm not usually one to apologize."

"Huh? Apologize?" Dora couldn't figure out what he would have to apologize for.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, Dora," Kyle said with his eyes downcast.

Dora was puzzled, and couldn't stop herself from raising her eyebrows. "What for?"

Kyle looked up at her, nearly mimicking her expression. "I...screwed up with Move. I did something wrong. It's my fault you passed out," he said as if it had been common knowledge.

Now Dora felt even worse. Not only did she put his life in danger, but he thought it was _his_ fault. And to top it off, she realized he really did fix up the roof by himself, out of guilt.

"Noooooooo, no, no..." Dora exclaimed, waving her free hand slightly. "You don't understand what happened... It's not your fault, Kyle!"

Kyle looked at her sleepily. Finally, he said, "I'm confused."

Dora took a deep breath, gripped her bag tightly in her hand, and explained what happened to him. Using her observational skills, she kept her blue eyes on his face looking for any signs that might give her a hint of his reaction. Despite her best efforts, his sleepy expression revealed almost nothing. She finished her explanation and braced herself.

"So... You're saying that _technically_ it was your fault?"

Dora just nodded sheepishly. Her heart was pounding it against her chest as she prepared for Kyle to lash out at her. It wouldn't be so bad, if she didn't _deserve_ it.

Kyle closed his eyes and leaned back. "Hm, I see..."

For the first time since she met him, Dora actually felt small to the guy. Was he silently judging her? Had she screwed up everything she had so carefully set up? Putting him in danger like that, she wouldn't blame him for trying to back out of their deal and treating her even worse than before. She began to fidget, and several times she opened her mouth to speak, but found she had no words to say.

After what felt like an hour, Kyle finally opened his heavy eyes. "You saw I finished the roof, right?"

"Yeah..." Dora said. She smiled brightly--if ever there was a time to suck up, now was it. "You did a _really_ good job, Kyle. I'm...highly impressed."

Kyle just chuckled and gave a knowing smile, folding his arms. "I ended up sleeping overnight here. It took longer than I thought, and by the time I was done I just wanted to sleep. I'm used to sleeping at the counters like this, so it was as good as any bed for me," he explained.

Dora looked at his clothes and realized with a start that he was definitely wearing the same clothes he had on the previous day. The girl wasn't sure why she didn't notice it before.

"I'm going to propose a deal this time," Kyle said a bit slowly.

Dora prepared herself for the worst. Her overactive mind went through dozens of possible 'deals' before Kyle spoke again.

"I want to nap most of the day," Kyle said with a yawn. "Is that okay?"

Dora's blue eyes blinked once, then twice. "Uhh..." was all that left her mouth.

"I worked hard..." Kyle said as he stared at her. "Please?"

...please? _Please?_ He was asking her nicely? No yelling, no demanding, not even a hint of anger. And just for a nap? Was he saving it or something?

"I put you in danger..." Dora said quietly, wondering if he didn't understand that part. Sheesh, men confused her.

Kyle scratched his head. "What does that have to do with my nap?"

Dora shook her head. "No, I mean...you just want a nap? You don't want anything else?" she asked incredulously.

"Oh. Well, no, not really. You saved me from falling," Kyle replied.

"But I put you in danger...and you also carried me to the Sanctum. Not to mention you stayed late to finish the roof _and_ had to sleep here overnight!" Dora pointed out. "I just thought...you'd take _advantage_ of it..."

Kyle tilted his head and gave her a dirty look. "You don't think very highly of me, do you?"

Dora's eyes widened. "N-No, that's not it. Sorry, I just..."

Waving her off, the young man said, "Don't worry about it Dora. You don't look well today, either." He leaned back and sighed. "If I had practiced Move in the first place, you wouldn't have had to teach me, and none of that would have happened. It was still my fault, despite the, er...backwards teaching, I guess."

"No, it wa--"

"Don't blame yourself," Kyle cut her off. "I was really surprised at how quickly you reacted. You did it without thinking. It's...nice to know you can instinctively save me like that. The way I see it, if the situation had been reversed, I wouldn't have the skill to do the same. You were....well, you did amazing."

Dora stared at him with wide eyes as a shade of pink crept onto her cheeks. The guy she thought of as just a lazy co-worker was suddenly looking at the situation on a level she hadn't considered. He appeared so different now. Not only that, but he complimented her. She didn't feel amazing, but having someone like _him_ compliment her was enough to make her head spin. He didn't seem like the type to say nice things so easily, especially to...her.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you. I'm not really good at saying that, either," he admitted with a shy grin.

He could've fooled Dora about that. But she nodded and smiled back anyway. "Yeah... Thank you, too, for taking me to the Sanctum."

Kyle shrugged. "Anybody would've done it. I thought you were seriously hurt."

"Oh, yeah... That happens sometimes. I was using my Catch Beads, so it made it even more difficult for me."

"Catch Beads?"

"Yeah," Dora reached into the pocket of her beige pants and revealed several small green beads. "I got them from my mom. They allow me to use Catch without actually learning it. When you use an item for psynergy, it's a little more taxing on the body. Since I was catching a full grown person, it was even harder, and...you saw the result."

Kyle merely nodded.

"And...by the way, you really did do a great job on the roof," said Dora as she pocketed the beads. "I certainly think you've deserved the day off."

"Ugh, I hope so. I don't want to go up there again," Kyle said as he laid his head and arms back down on the desk. "I think I'm allergic to straw."

Dora couldn't help herself. "Yeah. It threw you right off the building. It must not agree with you at all."

A snort could be heard. "That was lame," Kyle commented.

Despite what he said, Dora could see that he was grinning. She smiled, too, and walked over to her counter, setting her bag down in the process. "I'll get my wits back once I recover some more, then you'll be hearing jokes that go way over your head."

"Mm."

Dora took that as a cue to allow him to sleep. She really did believe he earned it, and not just because of his work on the roof. She was feeling much, _much_ better after talking to him.

**!-C- -A- -T- -C- -H-!  
!-B- -E- -A- -D- -S-!**

For the rest of the week, Dora insisted that Kyle practiced two hours every day on using Move. Eventually he was doing it much better, and all the boxes had slowly been repositioned quite a bit by Friday. When the boxes were completely out of the way of the center area of the floor, Dora brought in a rug for the center of the room, as well as the curtains she promised.

Kyle had also taken to practicing with his chair, which was much easier and actually helped him see his progress better. Once Dora instructed him on how to augment just how much psynergy he was using during the casting, he quickly grasped how to do that and was making even faster progress at control and strength. It actually made him feel very good about himself. His father, who had been his previous instructor, never really stayed around to watch him practice, nor was he very detailed with his instructions. When Kyle explained that to Dora, she became irritated, saying it was crucial for adepts who are just learning to have someone experienced constantly helping them. She said it was no wonder he wasn't very good at using psynergy, and promised to fix it.

The young man wasn't sure how he felt about that. It was almost as if he was another project for Dora to fix--of which she had many. By the end of the week, the entire shop looked brand new, and she had even managed to increase business slightly by putting up a large, freshly-painted sign advertising their new wares. The redhead wanted to do more, but as the week was coming to an end, she told Kyle she was going to just write up a list of things for the next week. He also wasn't sure how to feel about that. Was she just trying to find things for them to do?

Still, with the deal ending on Saturday after the dinner she promised to make him, it wasn't like he would be forced to work anymore. He'd finished everything she asked. There may have been a complaint or two, sure, but he felt more..._obligated_ to work willingly after she caught him from falling off the roof. Breaking several bones wasn't an experience he wanted to go through.

Kyle was looking forward to the dinner. He fell in love with Dora's cooking, and halfway through the week he told her to just surprise him for lunch every day. Every meal had been a hit, and it seemed to make her happy, which was a bonus. After all, he was allowed naps more frequently with her in a good mood.

On Friday, Dora worked Kyle the hardest yet. It was obvious she had done so in preparation for the deal ending. He didn't have a single chance for a nap, and at the end of the day, as he walked away while she locked up, his mind was only on how great it would feel to collapse on his bed and sleep peacefully. He figured he'd have to rest a lot for the work that was likely to come the next day, anyway.

"Kyle, wait up!" Dora called, running up to catch him. The two of them ended up staying a little late, so only a glimpse of the sun was still in the sky. Kyle stopped walking and allowed Dora to catch up to him.

"Yeah?" he asked.

Dora took Kyle's hand and slapped a small piece of paper in it. "I thought it would be neat to make it official," she said with a bright grin. "I would've given this to you earlier, but I didn't want your mind to be on it all day."

Kyle looked at the card and saw that it was an invitation to her dinner on Saturday night. A small smile appeared on his face as he realized she tended to go overboard on just about everything.

"Glitter and everything, huh?"

"Well, I'm really excited, actually," Dora said with a light blush. "We worked hard this week, and I'm going to go all out on the meal. You're the first new guest we'll have in a long time."

She eyed Kyle and her grin actually widened. "In fact..." she said, "I convinced my grandfather to give us both the day off. You get to sleep in, and I can spend the day cooking."

Kyle looked at her in shock. "This is the first I heard of it..." he said slowly. "Are you sure?"

Dora nodded. "Yeah, I wanted to be the one to tell you. Sort've an extra surprise... I expected you'd like the day off. Was I right?"

"Definitely," Kyle exclaimed with a happy smile. "I'm pretty sore after today." He rubbed his shoulder and winced jokingly.

"Don't be a baby," Dora said with narrow eyes as she folded her arms. "It's good for you."

Kyle raised his eyebrow. "How _does_ your boyfriend manage with you?"

He couldn't dodge the rough poke in his chest from her finger. "He's a hard worker, too. He's been working all week to help some of the Venus adepts and Sages set up that Wise One monument on Mt. Aleph."

Kyle turned to look at Mt. Aleph with Dora. In the dying light, he could just barely make out the monument, which consisted of a big round rock perched on a ledge. "The Boulder thing, huh?"

"It's not a boulder. It'll be a replica of The Wise One when they're finished. James helped select the spot and position it."

Kyle shrugged. "I'm sure my name for it will catch on. 'The Boulder' is easier than 'that replica of The Wise One', right?"

Rolling her eyes, Dora did not respond to that. Instead, she replied with, "He's a hard working man, and look where it's gotten him. If you worked regularly as hard as you did this week, you'd be a happier person and have a girlfriend in no time."

"Mm, maybe, but I'm not ready for that sort of thing."

Kyle started to walk toward his house. He invited Dora to walk with him until they would have to part ways halfway there.

"Be that as it may, it would certainly make _my_ job easier..." Dora commented as she fell in step beside him.

A quiet yawn was all that came from Kyle's mouth. It was exhausting work making her job easier. It's not like she _had_ to do those things either. She wrote up lists and chose to do the things on him--nobody was forcing her.

"Thank you, though. I really appreciate the help this week, Kyle. I'll work extra hard tomorrow to show you how happy I am you worked with me."

Kyle turned to see Dora smiling at him. It wasn't a proud grin or a mocking smirk that he often saw from her. The one he was looking at was sincere, pretty, and cute. He liked her genuine smiles much more. They were slightly infectious, and pleasant to look at. Staring at her for a moment, he decided to bump her rating up to an eight. Her cooking alone landed her an extra point.

"Don't mention it," he said as he turned to look straight ahead.

As they walked silently beside each other, he felt like there was more he should say. In his tired state of mind, he couldn't figure out what it was, though. After racking his brain, he finally gave up and just remained silent. If he couldn't think of it, it probably wouldn't have been important enough to say anyway.

He could feel Dora beside him, her lighter steps mixed in with his heavy, sluggish ones. The card was still in his hand, and he decided to take another look at it. It looked about as professional as anything else she worked on. It was incredibly odd at how she took pride in just about everything she worked on, right down to a simple card. After all, he knew there was a dinner Saturday at her house. All she had to tell him was the time and be done with it. Why go the extra length? What purpose was there? It was just a waste of time, wasn't it? Kyle just couldn't figure it out.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Kyle. Remember not to come in to work," Dora said brightly beside him.

Kyle stopped walking and looked around to realize they had already come to the division in the road that Dora had to take. He hadn't even realized it. As he rubbed his sore eyes, he said, "Ah, yeah. See you tomorrow."

"Bye!"

Waving, Kyle said goodbye and watched as Dora gripped her bag at her side and walked on alone to her house, just as the sun was disappearing completely. He wasn't sure if it was his exhaustion or not, but he almost thought Dora had a little skip in her step. The young man wondered if it was in anticipation for the next day.

Yawning, he shook his head and continued on his way. "That girl is something else," he murmured quietly.

* * *

**End:**_ Chapter Two_

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

**_How Heroes Are Made_****  
By Joker's Specter**

**Chapter the Third**

* * *

It was a hot day, just like every other had been that week. The people of Vale went about their business as usual. High up on Mt. Aleph a crew made up of a couple Sages, several Venus adepts, and James were putting some finishing touches on positioning the large boulder that would serve as a replica of The Wise One. James was discussing some things with the Sages while the Venus adepts carefully built supports around the spherical rock.

Down at the base of Mt. Aleph, in a cottage off to the far side of the village, smoke was bursting from the chimney at a rapid rate. All of the windows were open, allowing the house to vent as Dora worked hard at preparing a fancy dinner. She wanted it to be one of her best, and was toiling away non-stop for hours in an effort to succeed. Every single cooking skill she knew was being put to use. One of the reasons she was so good at cooking was the equipment she had at hand. In the center of her house was a large fiery machine that she had James install. With a chef's touch, the machine could prepare food flawlessly, which is always how Dora wanted it. And, more importantly, it was how Dora _needed_ it that day.

Sweat was running down her face as she rushed around the little house. Dora's mother had gone out to help gather supplies, which left Dora to single-handedly manage things until she returned. It was quite hectic, but a fun challenge. Well, fun until she completely forgot about a pot of soup that was cooking and had to throw it out once it was ruined. That irritated her somewhat, and she made sure the pot knew it when she slammed it back down to restart the soup.

Dora forced a smile to remain on her face, however. Walking to the counter with various ingredients strewn about on it, her mind wandered to imagine the end result of her hard work. It would be an amazing meal. She would make sure of it, even if it killed her. It would be the dinner to end all dinners. A five star meal. The best in all of Vale. It had to be the best, or else...

She paused to catch her breath. While running her hands through her red hair, she suddenly wondered if maybe she was setting the bar too high for herself. The meal didn't have to be _perfect_--just great. If she tried too hard, it might end up ruined anyway. But still, she had some people to impress. Her mom would be there, as would her grandfather. Dora knew those two liked her food no matter what. Then there was Kyle... She promised she'd make it delicious for Kyle--and good for him wasn't exactly a hard thing to accomplish.

Those three would accept mediocre cooking, but the final dinner guest was James... She needed to make it special for him. But he enjoyed everything she cooked, too, so short of perfect would hopefully work, right?

Dora's face hardened as she pounded her fist into her palm. No! This was going to be a celebration, a reward, an expression and test of her abilities, and an attempt to save something important to her all at once. She would make it perfect for everybody; wonderful, tasty, and everyone would love it more than anything, and then James would--

A hissing sound suddenly filled the room. She squeaked and ran to the soup as it boiled over. "Not again!"

**!-M- -R- -R- -R- -R-!  
!-M- -R- -R- -R- -R-!**

"I'm going out!" Kyle called to his parents. Just before he could step his foot out the door, his mom poked her head around the corner.

"Out? Out where?" she asked, bewildered as her wild hair fell into her eyes. She brushed it out of the way quickly. "You never go out!"

Even though Kyle was used to that, it still didn't make it any less annoying. "Mom, I already told you this several times. I'm going out to have dinner at my co-worker's place," he explained patiently.

"Oh, right," she said with a smile. "Sorry--it's still something I'm getting used to. You don't even go out with friends anymore."

Like that was supposed to make him feel any better. "I'll be back later, then."

"It's a girl?" his mom suddenly questioned.

Kyle braced himself. Why didn't he just sneak out instead, like he planned? "Yes, mom."

His mom's face lit up, and within moments she was next to him. "Oooohhhhh... Is she cute?"

That type of thing was always a mystery to Kyle. Why did older women--especially parents--feel the need to play matchmaker or show a sudden interest when a boy gets around a girl? It was downright creepy. He'd bet anything that she'd wish she could be a fly on the wall at that dinner. A shudder ran through him. That would be just what he needed--his mom planning "dates" for him and Dora right in front of their parents. He'd been there before, and it didn't end well.

He made a note to himself to never bring Dora around his mom. Clearing his throat, he turned to the door and said, "I'm going, Mom. I'll be late for the dinner."

"Ahhh," she uttered with a sly smile. "Mustn't keep the fair princess waiting. I'll want to know what happened when you get home!"

And people wondered why Kyle wasn't ready for a girlfriend. It's not that he didn't like to look at girls--his drawings were evidence that he was definitely interested. He simply didn't feel like going through the trouble just yet. His dad had actually told him to put it off for as long as possible. Good advice, sure enough, but Kyle didn't need his dad to tell him that. Five minutes with his mom was all it took for him to understand. He ignored his rather pesky mother and left the house.

The sun was still hovering in the sky when Kyle made his way to Dora's house. The young man wasn't sure what to expect when he got there. An amazing meal, yeah, but what else? It never was quite so simple with Dora. He felt like he had to brace himself for..._something_, he just didn't know what. He probably would've felt better if his mom hadn't had one of her little episodes right before he walked out the door. There was something foreboding about it. A parent's actions were hardly ever innocent, he'd realized.7

Thankfully, as he approached the cottage, everything seemed normal enough. A few voices could be heard from inside, and a nice smell filled the evening air. Kyle's concerns slowly began to wash away as he walked up the steps and knocked on the wooden door.

The voices stopped, and a few seconds later the door swung open to reveal Dora. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she was wearing an elegant blue dress that matched her eyes. Kyle suddenly felt under-dressed; he just walked over with the clothes he had been wearing since the previous day.

"Hey!" she said, smiling brightly. "Managed to get out of bed, huh?"

"You're hilarious," Kyle said with a deadpan voice. Then he spoke the first thing on his mind. "It smells really, really good."

Dora actually winked at him. "Of course it does. Come on in--everybody's waiting!" She motioned behind her and walked toward a table in the center of the room.

Kyle looked past her at the other three people inside the brightly lit cottage. James, Mr. Romar, and a woman who Kyle assumed was Dora's mother were seated around a large wooden table. His attention was immediately taken away from the people, and set firmly on the meal that was spread out on the table.

"Wow," Kyle murmured in surprise. An overwhelming feeling ran through him as he tried to take in the sight. He wasn't sure if he'd ever seen so much food in one place before.

Clearly putting hard work into the dinner, Dora had prepared something that looked like it belonged to a king. Various types of meat--some of which Kyle had requested as a joke during the initial deal--were sitting in various spots around the table. There was a large loaf of fresh bread that was still steaming. Two pitchers of what looked like a delicious fruit drink were sitting on each end of the table. Even though all of that alone would probably fill him up, there were still things Kyle wanted to try if his stomach would allow it: salad, soup, and corn. To top it all off, there was a dish full of bird-shaped cookies for desert. Dora really had outdone herself.

"Wow," Kyle repeated.

"I think we can all agree to that," Mr. Romar said with a laugh.

"Kyle, you've already met James. This is my mom, Kinny," Dora said with a quick motion to her mother. The woman looked like one might expect--an older Dora--except her eyes were hazel and her hair was a slightly darker shade of red.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Kyle said with a courteous smile. "I'm honored to be able to join you for dinner."

Dora shot him a look of surprise, clearly not expecting such manners from him. It was extremely satisfying to Kyle, and he couldn't help but feel just a little bit powerful in front of the usually overbearing girl.

"I've heard a lot about you, Kyle," Kinny said. She reached out and shook his hand, smiling warmly at him. "And I think the first thing I need to do is thank you for carrying my daughter to the Sanctum a few days ago."

"Yeah, thank you," James chipped in with a grin. "It's good to know Dora has someone keeping an eye out for her."

Now it was Kyle's turn to be surprised--he wasn't used to praise like that. He just did what anybody would do, after all. His surprise was quickly replaced by curiosity as he caught an odd expression cross Dora's face. The young woman looked back at James, and even though Kyle wasn't the most observant person ever, he detected a hint of sadness in her eyes. It was fleeting, but definitely there.

Dora suddenly whipped her head back toward Kyle, causing her hair to wrap around her shoulder. "So, Kyle!" she said with a bright grin. Kyle thought it looked forced. "Let's get you seated now that you've met the family."

Kyle raised his eyebrows at her, but just nodded in agreement. He peeked around her and said to Kinny and James, "You're welcome--I'm sure she would have done the same for me," before Dora motioned to an empty seat for him to sit in.

Once Kyle was seated, everybody gave their thanks for the food and started digging in. Being who he was, Kyle couldn't decide what he wanted to start with. Well, no, the cookies caught his eye first, but he was trying to have good manners. Those would have to wait. Everything else was giving him trouble, though. It all looked so _good_, and he wanted to try everything. It was just like one of the buffets that the town sometimes held for celebrations. Was every dinner of Dora's like this? It was so paralyzing that he finally grabbed the nearest thing only after his stomach growled. Following that, it was as if he was on a slippery slope, and he couldn't stop eating.

The conversations held were mostly boring to Kyle, and if he was dragged into them his responses were hardly elaborate. He did pay close attention to the embarrassing stories Kinny told about Dora's childhood, however. The time Dora thought she was a boy for a few weeks was one of the funniest things Kyle had ever heard, and he would have liked to hear more, except a red-faced Dora put an end to that topic.

Midway through the dinner, Kyle started to focus on things other than the food. The house was beautifully decorated, even moreso than his own. And it was so _clean!_ He thought his mom was bad when it came to cleaning, but Dora and Kinny clearly were in a class of their own. The strong feelings he got when he looked at the house suddenly made him feel like he should wash himself, as if he wasn't clean enough to be there.

The conversations drifted in and out of Kyle's ears as he continued filling his stomach. Every now and then he would put his focus on the speaker, but other than the usual things nothing really stood out. The village was discussed a lot, as was the Boulder that James had been working on.

Kyle began noticing something...odd...about Dora. She seemed very fidgety or nervous, which wasn't like her at all. Throughout the dinner she appeared overly happy--even for her--or she would excuse herself at random times to step outside. When the topic of the Boulder came up, she clearly looked distressed. Her blue eyes kept looking from James to her food, as if she wasn't allowed to look at him and had to be secretive about it.

She wasn't being herself, and Kyle actually found himself a little worried in addition to extremely curious. He hadn't known Dora for very long, but he was around her enough to figure out a few things about her. Something was definitely wrong with her. She was putting on a strong act, but it was an act nonetheless. He wanted to ask her what was wrong while they were sitting there, but what if it was something she couldn't speak about around the others?

The source of her anxiety seemed to be James. Dora often chewed her lip when she glanced over at him, and the sad presence in her eyes increased. Several minutes went by without her even touching her food, and if she was spoken to, the replies were simple. It definitely wasn't like her at all.

Kyle wanted to do something, but what? What could he do? What could he say? He hardly knew the first thing to do in a situation like that, and more importantly they were in the middle of a dinner at the moment. How could he find a way to casually get her away from everybody else to find out what was wrong? And what if she didn't want to tell him? Was it even his place to ask?

He was surprised to find himself thinking on such a level, but the more he looked at Dora, the more fragile she appeared. It was making _him_ disheartened just by seeing someone so strong in such a state. Once again, he found himself wishing women could be simpler. There was also the burning question of why he was noticing, or even caring.

"Kyle, Dora... I hate to ask..."

Kyle was jolted out of his thoughts when someone spoke his name. He turned to look at Mr. Romar, who had a pained expression on his face. Was something wrong with him, too?

"Could you two do me a favor and run to my house and grab my medication? I've forgotten to take it, and I don't think I should eat another bite before I do," Mr. Romar said with a cough. Despite speaking to both of them, his eyes were on Kyle the entire time. They were focused and hard, drilling into Kyle's as if trying to say something.

Kyle blinked as a knowing smile appeared on Mr. Romar's face. "Please?" the elderly man asked.

"Oh, uh, yeah," Kyle said as he turned to meet Dora's stare. "Sure thing. We'll be right back."

"Take your time," Mr. Romar said with a wave. "They're in a drawer beside my bed, inside a small pouch."

When Dora stood up and walked to the door, Kyle gave the family a polite nod and walked quickly to catch up to her. They both exited into the warm night air, and immediately Kyle felt a little more comfortable. Most of the tension was left behind, inside the little cottage, and instead relief filled his senses.

...until he looked at Dora. Her expression hadn't changed at all, and to make matters worse, there was a distant look in her eyes as she walked. Kyle wondered if she even realized he was there, trying to keep up with her hurried pace.

"Um, Dora?"

Dora slowed down a bit, but otherwise didn't do or say anything.

Kyle tried again. "Dora?"

She turned to look at him, and her eyes suddenly focused. An obviously false smile appeared on her face. "Hm?"

Rubbing the back of his head, Kyle asked, "Is...something wrong?"

Dora immediately turned away from him. "Of course not," she said.

Kyle wasn't convinced. It was too glaring, unless she always acted that way outside of work. It troubled him that she wouldn't admit it. After all, he just wanted to find out and--hopefully--see if he could easily help. He decided to give it another try. "Are you sure there's nothing you want to talk about?"

"Talk about? Sure... How's the dinner?" she asked, flashing him another artificial smile.

Suppressing a sigh, Kyle ran his eyes over her face. It was faint, but he could see the distress within her, cracking through the mask. So why wouldn't she talk to him? "That's not what I meant," he said slowly. "The food's incredible, though."

He supposed there was nothing else to be done. With a shrug, the young man looked straight ahead as they approached the bridge that would cross over to the Mayor's house, which would lead them to Mr. Romar's home just below the Mayor's. A few yards away, a sparkling waterfall shone in the fading sunlight. Kyle tried to focus on the sound to help keep his attention off of Dora's problems.

It was working, until Dora suddenly whispered, "James is probably going to leave me."

It took Kyle a moment to realize that Dora was actually going to start confiding in him. He pulled himself together and said, "I...see... I'm sorry, Dora." Immediately he felt stupid for not having something else to say. But what was there? He wanted to hit himself.

Dora kept her gaze at the ground. "He told me yesterday... He wants to become a Sage, and they can't have relationships. That's why I worked so hard on this dinner. I was hoping to...I guess I was hoping to convince him to stay."

Kyle stared at her. The boyfriend wanted to become a Sage? That was pretty unexpected. How was he supposed to fix _that_?

"He...he's been working around them," Dora's trembling voice started to speak faster. "They've been talking, and...he wants to be one. He hasn't decided yet, but..."

Kyle was starting to understand now. Dora put her all into the dinner to impress James, not him. And the nervous glances throughout the night--she just wanted James to like it enough to stay with her. She was putting herself out there completely. Kyle didn't even want to try to imagine what else she had planned to convince her boyfriend to stay with her.

"I'm just...lost. I don't know what to do," Dora said. She sniffed and shivered a bit. "I love him. We planned our whole future together--that's why I took the job at the shop. I've been with him for so long..."

It was weird that Dora suddenly started spilling all of this to Kyle. Nobody had done this with him before. Yet, here was someone he'd only known for a week, telling him some of her innermost feelings. She was so...vulnerable. It was unlike the Dora he had known up to that point. He truly felt sorry for her. Never before had he seen someone who appeared helpless.

He wanted to say something--anything--to fix the situation. But what was there? Thinking of the easiest response, Kyle tried to give a comforting smile and said, "But there's still hope, right? You shouldn't give up yet."

Dora didn't reply to that. Kyle's heart suddenly felt very heavy as he realized that she probably _had_ given up. So what could he say in a case like that? He watched her eyes grow distant again. How could he help her get back to the strong person he knew she was? Seeing her in such a weak state was like a weight was being pressed down on him, and he didn't even know why it was bothering him so much. He only knew he wanted to fix it. But what should he do? _What should he do?_

A tear rolled down Dora's cheek. Kyle felt sick. "Dora, I--"

"At least the dinner was good, right?" Dora said with watery eyes. She turned and smiled up at Kyle. "You liked it. I'm glad."

Kyle stared at her face. No, he realized, it wasn't her true face. She was trying so hard to keep herself together. He couldn't look away. Even though she was smiling, it was just a mask. Her expression ran deep, and he could see she was calling for his help. Begging... Pleading. But nothing could be done... He wanted the throw up--he felt so distant, but at the same time a claw was piercing him and anchoring him there in her powerful gaze. Never before had he felt like that. His heart was pounding painfully in his chest.

"I-I did..." he stammered quietly. The overwhelming feeling restricted him from saying anything else. He wanted to run away and reach out to her at the same time. How? How could somebody so strong appear so broken? And why did Kyle have nothing to say? Something--anything--he just wanted to say it!

Dora's blue eyes studied Kyle's face for a moment longer, then turned away from him. The heavy weight on Kyle was suddenly eased just a bit, and he took a deep breath. The pair walked silently up to Mr. Romar's house and reached the door without another word.

"You wait here..." Dora said. "I'll be right back with the medication."

As Dora disappeared into the house, Kyle couldn't help but hate himself slightly. She confided in him--probably the first person she had told all of that to--and he let her down. He couldn't say or do anything, no matter how hard he thought or tried to. It just...was out of his hands.

The pain in his chest remained, even though Dora wasn't beside him. Sighing, the adept sat down against the side of the house. He wasn't so hungry anymore.

**!-M- -R- -R- -R- -R-!  
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The rest of the dinner went fine, by most standards. Kyle certainly paid more attention to Dora and James, though. He only met James a few times, but the man seemed to be acting just like he always did. Except, of course, the constant discussion of how great the Sages were that he'd been working with. Dora was having a hard time forcing her happy attitude during the last part of the meal, as it appeared that James wasn't affected in the slightest by anything she had done.

Kyle wasn't sure what to make of it all. A person should be able to do what they want in life, so he couldn't exactly dislike James for wanting to be a Sage. But then Kyle would look at Dora and immediately catch the wounded side of her, and he suddenly felt like James was being very selfish. It was even clear to someone like Kyle that she loved him deeply.

"I'll help you with that, Kinny," James said with a smile as Dora's mom began gathering the dirty dishes.

"Oh my, thank you James. That would be very helpful," the older woman said.

Kyle immediately turned to look at Dora, but found that she was leaving her seat. "Excuse me," she said quietly before hasitly exiting the house.

Feeling like a fish out of water, Kyle was about to offer to help with the clean up as well, but before he could say a word Mr. Romar cut in. "Would you mind accompanying me to my home, Kyle?" he asked.

Kyle looked at the old man and felt like he couldn't refuse, even if he wanted to. There was something about the way he asked that told Kyle he _had_ to go with him.

"Yeah, I can do that," Kyle said with a simple shrug. He stood up out of his chair and walked around to help his employer up.

"Well, thank you for coming, Kyle!" Kinny said brightly. "It was so nice to meet you."

Kyle smiled and nodded respectfully. "It was nice to meet you too, ma'am." He thought he was getting good at the whole politeness thing.

Mr. Romar and Kyle slowly made their way out of the door and down to the path. Once they were out of earshot of the house, Kyle wanted to tell Mr. Romar everything about Dora. However, as he opened his mouth to speak, he found that he couldn't put it into words. It was very confusing to him. What could possibly describe all that had happened and all that he had felt?

"I went by the shop earlier today," Mr. Romar suddenly said. He smiled at Kyle, and added, "You two worked wonders on that place."

Kyle smiled back, though it didn't feel real to him. The compliment was nice, but he just had too much on his mind. "Thanks, Mr. Romar."

Mr. Romar chuckled. "You know, I appreciate the respect, but I think it's about time you go on a first name basis with me, don't you?"

Kyle looked at the aging man with a confused expression. "Huh?" he uttered. "So I should call you--"

"Isaac, yes."

"Oh, okay," Kyle said. He scratched his head and stared at the ground.

"I named my son Isaac, too... It's become sort of a family tradition. Dora wants to keep up that tradition," Isaac said with a sad smile.

Kyle thought about Dora, and how she made plans for everything, including her future. James breaking up with her would probably be ruining the most important plan for her. He knew it meant more to her than just a plan, but that was a simple way for him to understand it. He could see why it was upsetting Dora so much.

"She's having relationship troubles, isn't she?"

Kyle's surprise at the question was obvious, so the old man shook his head sadly. "It's a shame. He's a nice kid, too."

"I don't understand it," Kyle said quietly. "Why would he give up a person to be a Sage? What can he get out of being a Sage?"

Isaac shrugged and looked up at the night sky. "A Sage, huh? So that's the issue... Well, who knows? Every person is unique. Maybe he was meant for it. Maybe in the end he'll regret it."

"But...she loves him." Kyle still didn't understand what the reasoning behind James' decision could possibly be. "A person or a lifestyle...isn't the choice obvious?"

The old man started laughing, causing Kyle to jump. He certainly didn't see anything funny in what he had just said.

"Oh, Kyle, I don't think you realize just how deep that saying goes. It even applies to you."

Kyle stared at the old man while wearing a dumbfounded expression. "...huh?"

The man smiled. "It's on a much smaller scale of course, but... How hard was it for you to work for Dora this past week?"

Kyle wasn't sure where this was going. "It was hard."

"And she's pretty much asking you to change your lifestyle to do so, correct?" Isaac asked.

"I...guess so," Kyle said with a shrug. A few moments later it started to sink in.

An understanding smile appeared on Isaac's face as Kyle started to realize it. A person, or a lifestyle... Kyle had been given the same choice, and it wasn't exactly easy for him, either.

"I see..." said the young adept quietly.

Isaac sighed softly. "Even though she's very strong willed, she has a very big heart. Plus, she isn't one to take kindly to unexpected things, and I bet this was something out of the blue. It's going to be hard for her," he said sadly.

Kyle didn't feel like the best person in the world at that moment. In the beginning, he had given Dora a lot of trouble, too. It was very hypocritical of him. "Yeah," he whispered. "Most likely."

The two of them approached Isaac's house, and with a nod the older man said, "Perhaps we'll continue this discussion another time, Kyle. In the mean time, have a good night."

Kyle bid the man good night as he disappeared into his house, and then slowly made his way home with his full attention on his thoughts. He was so focused that he forgot to sneak back in, and ended up having to give his mom a basic retelling of the dinner. He made sure to leave out everything that was weighing heavily on his mind.

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Dora didn't show up for work the next day. It was very problematic for Kyle, since he had hoped to make up for his lack of compassion the previous night by talking to Dora and possibly doing some chores she might have requested. That usually seemed to make her feel better, anyway.

Instead, he received a message early in the morning from the guy he came to know as George. The message from Mr. Romar said,

_Kyle,_

_Dora won't be coming in today, so you'll have to take care of things. Sorry._

_Isaac Romar_

And that was it. He heard nothing else about it the rest of the day. Kyle was tempted to go see what was wrong, but thought better of it when a few customers showed up to buy some items. With customers actually frequenting the store at any given time, he couldn't exactly leave it unattended.

It was very strange being in the store alone. He had come to consider Dora and the fixed-up building one and the same. There was no more dust to lay his head in, no more garbage strewn about that reminded him of his room. It was an entirely different place now due to Dora. Without her there it just felt...incomplete.

Kyle spent the rest of the day drawing and practicing Move. He was hoping to make some progress on the skill, but was quickly finding himself unfocused and lacking motivation. There was no fancy lunch to look forward to, and Dora wasn't there to compliment him on his progress. He felt like there was no point in doing it. So why bother, especially when he felt so down?

Despite those negative thoughts, he found himself doing it almost out of routine. By the end of the day, he had made zero progress, but that didn't surprise him at all. His heart just wasn't in it.

**!-M- -R- -R- -R- -R-!  
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The following day, Kyle went to work expecting Dora to stay home again. To his surprise and relief, she was sitting at the item counter when he walked into the shop. He was about to ask her where she had been the day before, but he took one look at her and changed his mind immediately.

The young girl looked like such a mess that even the very air around her appeared to be gloomy and depressing. Her eyes were pink and puffy, her lips looked dry, and after staring for a while Kyle could tell her hair was different--like she didn't bother fixing it up after she got out of bed. To add to things, Dora seemed _exhausted_. Her eyes were half-opened, and she didn't even give the impression of noticing when Kyle walked in.

Kyle cleared his throat. "Hey Dora."

Dora turned to him, her eyes opening a little more. "Hey," she said with a dry voice. "How are you?"

Kyle doubted she was really curious, but he thought it might give him a chance to find out a little bit about what was going on without upsetting her further. "I'm okay. You?"

She shrugged.

"A few people came in yesterday," Kyle suddenly said; he didn't want to drop the conversation. He wanted _something_ to happen. "They bought some items. The money's in the cashbox under your counter."

Dora looked down at the cashbox and said, "That's good."

Kyle bit his lip and rubbed his arm. Things weren't going as easily as he had hoped. He tried again, saying, "I practiced Move a little yesterday. I didn't get any better, though... I think I was too distracted."

The awkward feeling in the air increased as Kyle realize he'd been standing in the same spot for several minutes, just staring at her. With slow movements, he made his way to his counter and added, "I also drew a few things."

Dora's eyes didn't follow him. They were still staring at the cashbox. "Neat," she murmured.

Kyle realized he wasn't doing a very good job. Still, he tried again. "What'd you do yesterday?"

Just as he finished his sentence, he realized that he was probably being too direct, and wanted to take it back. What if she didn't want to talk about it? What if he offended her? He watched her intently, wondering what her reaction would be.

Dora shrugged again. Kyle thought she wasn't going to say anything, but suddenly she blurted, "James broke up with me."

Kyle had assumed that was the problem, but it was good to have it confirmed. Or, no, it wasn't _good_. It was horrible. Horrible for Dora... He stared at the girl and, while thinking of a response, noticed her shoulders were starting to shake.

"The idiot's going to become a Sage. I tried so much," she said with a hard voice. It sounded like she was trying to hold back tears. "We were together for so long and...I loved him so much... Kyle, I...I told myself I wouldn't cry today..."

It was then that Kyle noticed the drops falling off of her face. There were only a few at first, but soon it increased as she continued speaking. Whatever Kyle had done worked--she was certainly talking now. He just wasn't sure what it was he did.

"I gave it my all...I showed him what a good wife I'd be. I begged him...he s-still left. I feel so empty." Dora's head slumped down onto the counter, and she covered her face with her arms.

As a tight feeling grabbed at Kyle's chest, he had an overpowering desire to do something to help Dora. He just couldn't figure out _what_ to do. However, he didn't want to stumble like the dinner night. She was confiding in him again, and he didn't want to screw it up again.

He thought back to all the times he had been upset as a child. If he wasn't being punished, his parents would often sit with him and talk until he felt better. That seemed like a reasonable thing to do. However, once again, he didn't know what to say. Should he offer to beat the guy up? That was an amusing thought, but he was sure Dora would pass on it. He hoped, anyway. James had much more muscle packed on.

Sighing a little bit louder than he intended to, Kyle grabbed his chair and dragged it over in front of Dora's counter. She didn't look up at him.

"Dora," he said quietly. "I'm not the best person at this kind of thing," he admitted. "But I really don't want to see you sad and upset. I don't know what I can do for you, but maybe if you tell me..." He trailed off and left it at that. The words sounded pretty stupid, but hopefully they would at least show her he wanted to _try_.

However, Dora's response nearly made him fall over. "You don't want to help me. You h-hate me," she choked out.

Kyle's brain froze. What the heck was she talking about? He would be hard pressed to hate _anybody_. He decided to be patient with her, though. He wasn't a delicate person, but the situation needed it--he could feel it. "Dora, what do you mean?"

Still not looking up, Dora said, "You think I'm pushy and annoying. The only way I got you to help me was with that stupid deal..."

So that's what she meant. Kyle folded his arms and closed his eyes. "Dora, I don't hate you."

"You do."

"I do not hate you."

"You do!"

Kyle clenched his fists together. "Dora. I do _not_ hate you. Stop saying it."

"James does. You do, too."

Kyle was starting to get a little impatient at her self-pity act. _Forget_ being delicate. "I don't!" he exclaimed, opening his eyes and glaring at Dora. "Don't you tell me how I feel. Nobody knows what I feel but me, and I when I say I don't hate you, that means I don't hate you. I _respect_ you."

The words even surprised him. They just flowed out as if someone else was saying them. Even so, he knew it was honest, so he explained to her what he meant as she looked up in confusion. "Look at what you've done to this place, Dora. It's...really, really good." He winced a bit at how stupid he sounded, but went on. "And me... I may not have wanted to work on the shop or practice Move, but you didn't give up on me. Even my own dad didn't help me with my psynergy that much, and you figured out how to get me to help work--my mom is still trying to figure that one out."

Dora's red eyes were wide as tears continued falling from them. Kyle suddenly felt extremely vulnerable under her gaze. He wanted to end it there, but he strongly felt it was important to continue. A person was depending on him, and he couldn't give up.

"You're pushy, you're bossy, and you're a perfectionist. Those things I can't deny. But I'm lazy, unmotivated, and it'll be a miracle if I can ever perfect a psynergy skill. We all have our flaws, and with mine being a common occurrence, how can I hate you for yours?" He motioned around the shop. "At least your flaws _help_ you; you get things done, and better than anybody I know," Kyle said quietly. It took him a moment to realize he was still glaring at her.

Dora looked down at the counter. "But...James..."

"James is an idiot, plain and simple. And so are you if you feel like he left you because of who _you_ are, or if you think I hate you. You're one of a kind, Dora. I've hardly known you and I can already see that," Kyle said with brutal honesty. It felt _good_. He didn't even know where it was all coming from, but at least he was saying something, instead of freezing up like before. The trick seemed to be worrying less about her feelings and more about being honest--_that_ seemed to get him talking.

The tears started flowing heavily from Dora's bright-blue eyes again, and her face twisted up like it was in pain. Kyle immediately wondered if he had said something wrong. The tight feeling in his stomach increased, and he started to feel sick again.

"Oh, Kyle...I'm sorry..." Dora lowered her head into her arms again. "You're right, I'm sorry... It just hurts so much," she sobbed.

Kyle looked at the crying young woman. Was that what love does to people? Why would people fall in love if it hurts them so much? Dora was a completely different person from what she had been a few days earlier.

He couldn't help himself as he reached over the counter to place his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, c'mon Dora...this isn't like you. You're stronger than this. You're even stronger than me."

"It h-hurts..." she repeated softly while crying. "I can't help it. I just started talking and I lost it..."

She trailed off, and Kyle decided to leave it alone. If Dora couldn't help crying, then there was no point in asking her to stop. Instead, he just stayed there, rubbing her back from across the counter, with his fingertips grazing her hair. It was very uncomfortable stretching across the wood, and after a few minutes he pulled away. An empty feeling overcame him, and he felt useless again. As he looked at her messy hair, he realized more than ever that he had to do something for her.

"Dora... Like I said, I'm not very good at this, so if there's something I can do for you, I'm more than willing to help out," he said gently.

Dora turned her head in her arms. "I can't think of anything..." she whispered.

The knot in Kyle's stomach grew. He wanted to _help_. "What about...beating up James? I'm sure there's still time to beat him up before he becomes a Sage. I might have to cheat a bit to win, though."

To Kyle's surprise, Dora snorted into her sleeve, and then chuckled a bit. "Men," she choked out.

He wasn't sure what she meant by that, but Kyle took it as a no. "I could..."

As he was thinking, Dora reached out and took his hand that was on the counter. Kyle froze at the sudden, new touch. He wasn't sure why, but his heart started pounding rapidly.

"Thanks...just keep that offer open for another day," she said, lifting her face and giving him the first genuine smile he'd seen from her for a while. It was very small, but still sincere. Even through her tear-streaked face, it gave him a glimpse of her strength again, easing the tight feeling in his stomach.

"Y-Yeah..." he managed to stutter out. "I'll do that."

Their eyes stayed locked for a while, and Kyle felt like he was supposed to do something else. He just couldn't figure out what it was. An odd feeling was coursing through his body, sending a tingling sensation up his neck and heating up his face. With a start, he realized he was actually getting flustered.

And then Dora stood up, breaking the eye contact. Immediately, Kyle felt his breath return to him.

"I...think I'm going to run home really quickly. I bet I look like a mess," Dora muttered quietly.

Kyle wanted to tell her she looked fine, but he understood her well enough to know she wouldn't believe him. "That's okay. I'll keep an eye on things until you get back."

Dora smiled at him and left the shop without another word, shutting the door behind her.

Kyle, still sitting in his chair and facing where Dora had been seated moments earlier, took a deep breath. That had been one of the most intense conversations of his life; almost as bad as the bird and the bees talk with his dad. He felt awkward for months after that one.

As his thoughts overtook him, he didn't even hear Dora return a few seconds later. He jumped slightly and tensed up as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

And then she was gone again, leaving a very surprised Kyle petrified in his chair.

* * *

**End:**_ Chapter Three_

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

****

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**_How Heroes Are Made_**  
By Joker's Specter

Chapter Quatre

And now, back to our regular programming.  
-Joker

* * *

The next few weeks were about as normal as Kyle could hope for in the wake of Dora's breakup with James. Dora didn't cry in front of him anymore after that one time, and although she was noticeably less happy and energetic, he could see some improvement in her as time passed. The first week she didn't speak much unless Kyle talked to her first-which was very uncomfortable for him, since he wasn't sure if she even wanted to talk. For the most part he just spoke to her when it was necessary for the shop, but then he started to wonder if she might want the company, and began to speak to her more frequently about random topics.

That-combined with his small efforts to cheer her up-seemed to brighten her mood just enough. Kyle could tell she was still depressed, but the fact that she would flash a tiny smile every now and then was enough to give him some relief. It was still an unusual situation for him, but he thought he was catching on well enough.

One day, he began to wonder _why_ he was so interested in her all of the sudden. It wasn't exactly his business, and Dora wasn't all that close of a friend. It had even taken him several days to convince himself they _were_ friends-even if he didn't have the best idea of what having a close friend was like. So why was he bothered by her situation? Despite trying not to think about it, his mind would wander back to the subject eventually. He originally decided it was boredom, but the more involved he got, he realized that wasn't the case either. It just wasn't like him, and he felt weird about it.

Still, Kyle tried to push the apprehensive thoughts to the back of his mind, and just acted according to his instincts. It seemed that his instincts had changed quite a bit since the dinner night, because he found himself helping Dora willingly around the shop. The talk with Isaac had done quite a bit for the young adept, and Kyle put forth a greater effort with each week. Soon enough they had nothing to do, and Dora had to write up a new list. The new list contained things that would help attract customers, including new additions to the weapons Kyle would sell.

"Sticks?" Kyle asked with a bewildered tone. "You want me to sell _sticks_?"

Dora nodded and took the list from him. "Yep, sticks that we shape and condition. They'll be more like staves than a stick when we're done," she explained.

Clearly the breakup had done more to Dora's mind than Kyle had originally thought. "Um... Why are we going to sell sticks, Dora?" he asked, leaning back in his chair. This one should be good, he thought.

"Because they're safer, and good for practicing. Plus, I expect a lot of kids would be thrilled to have them."

"You expect."

Dora poked Kyle's forehead playfully, causing him to flinch. "Didn't you ever play swordfight as a kid with your friends?"

Thinking back to his rather boring life, Kyle shook his head. He never really had a friend close enough that he could imagine pretending to swordfight with. All the other kids in Vale would hang out with him if he joined them, sure, but he rarely could be bothered to do that, let alone pick up a stick against them. "No..." he finally said. "I did try fighting my mom once with a mop while she had a broom, but I lost. After that, I can't really recall anything similar."

The red-haired girl stared at Kyle. "You lost?" she asked after a beat of silence.

Shrugging, Kyle replied, "She cheated."

Dora smirked. "Okay, well... It's something I've seen quite a bit before. I think it'll be great for busine-_Oh!_ We could even paint them, or take orders for custom sticks!"

As hard as it was to grasp someone getting excited over sticks, Kyle forced himself to get on board with the idea. Dora usually knew her stuff, so the young man had to go with his gut feeling to trust her.

"Besides, you like carving, right? We can make them while we sit here if we're ever bored."

Kyle was about to say he was always bored at the shop, but immediately realized it wasn't true anymore. With Dora around, things were more active. Not exactly _fun_, but he was doing things other than sitting.

"There's another important matter I'd like to ask you about..." Dora said quietly.

There always seemed to be one more thing. "What is it?" Kyle asked.

Dora opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it and seemed to consider something. Finally, she grabbed her chair and dragged it over in front of Kyle's counter so they were face-to-face. Kyle braced himself for the worst job she's given him yet.

"You know the festival that's coming up next week?" Dora questioned, looking right into Kyle's eyes. The young man learned that Dora stared right into a person's eyes when she wanted something.

The upcoming festival that she mentioned was none other than the annual celebration of Vale's founding. It was usually just a party in the evening held in the plaza, with some dances and songs, and maybe a few games and stands that sold food and other wares. That year's festival would be especially important, because the monument for the Wise One had been completed on Mt. Aleph, and the festival would be celebrating that accomplishment as well.

"Yeah...? What about it?" Kyle questioned apprehensively. She seemed to enjoy asking things that surprised him.

Dora's face stayed firm. "I'm going to have a stand for selling pastries that I'll be making," she said.

So far so good. She was looking at him like there was some bad news, so even the thought of Dora making something for the festival wasn't enough for him to celebrate just yet. "Okay," he said, showing he understood so far.

Dora jumped right to the point. "I need help, and I'd like it if you would assist me," she explained. "The shop will be closed on the day of the festival, so I'll be baking all morning. And I might need to prepare some things the night before, too, which I could use some help with."

Kyle was fairly surprised. He never expected Dora would ask him to help her bake. But then again, she had asked him to do a lot lately that he didn't think she would request, so it wasn't exactly out of the ordinary. "You really want my help with baking?" he asked with a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Yes," Dora said, nodding while keeping her eyes on Kyle's. Then she paused, and considered something. "Well, no, not the actual baking process. I would just want your help preparing things. My mom's going to be busy at the Inn making food for the festival's eating contest, otherwise she would do it."

Scratching his chin, Kyle considered her proposal. He had no real reason to turn her down, except he might lose a few hours of sleep. That was something he had been missing a lot of lately. But on the bright side, there was the fact that he'd be right there while Dora baked-she might let him sample things, or she might even bake him a few special treats. The thought delighted him.

Or she wouldn't let him eat a thing, which would definitely make it torture and therefore not worth it.

As if she read his mind, Dora said, "I'll reward you with some cookies or something."

"It's a deal," Kyle said immediately. Then he frowned, suddenly feeling like a person who was too easy to get. He assured himself he would play hard to get next time she wanted something-at least until the sugary reward count increased.

"Great!" Dora exclaimed. Her genuine smile appeared on her face, and Kyle suddenly felt even more comfortable taking on the job. "You have no idea how much this means to me. I would've been in trouble."

Kyle leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Helping damsels in distress is what I do," he said while flashing a grin. He wanted to wink, but he felt a little stupid by even saying that.

"That was cheesy," Dora remarked with a blank face.

Kyle rubbed the back of his head and tried to think of something to save himself. With no ideas, he instead blurted out, "_You're_ cheesy."

Dora reached over and patted Kyle on the head. "It's still too early for you, huh?"

Smacking his head on the counter, Kyle muttered, "Yes. Hush."

Smiling, Dora stood up. "Well, while you regain your dignity, I think I'm going to go find some decent sticks."

By the time Kyle looked up, Dora was gone. Sighing, he slumped his head back down on the counter, saying, "Leave it to the damsel to make the hero feel unappreciated."

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Dora was fully intending on getting some sticks, but she immediately found herself distracted. Instead of watching where she was going, she walked towards the trail that led to upper Vale, and proceeded to get lost in her musings.

To Dora, it was obvious that Kyle was attempting to keep her happy. It was so unlike the Kyle she had first walked in on that she often found herself wondering if she would suddenly wake up from a bizarre dream. As time wore on, he kept at it, and soon she couldn't help but smile when he tried his hardest. The young woman appreciated it, and found it cute, but deep down she knew only time could completely heal her. Even then, she wasn't sure it would happen; James had been everything to her.

She often thought of how she used to walk with him late into the night and talk about their future while holding hands. They planned everything, right down to what style of clothes their kids would wear. The red-head could see just how their kids would look in her mind's eye. If she focused hard enough, she could even count how many freckles they had. That future had been the driving force of her life. Taking the job at the shop wasn't a casual whim-she and James were planning on being wed by the end of the year. She wanted to have the money for that dream and for their own home.

And then the unthinkable-her plans actually fell apart. Life went in a completely different direction. James... Dumb James... Dumb, idiotic, stupid, stupid, _stupid_ James! What right did he have breaking up with her after all she did for him? And just a week after she got the job that would catapult them to reach their goals? It was absurd!

Bitterly, Dora often thought of a future where James came crawling back to her, pleading for her to take him back. She would let him beg for hours, then tell him she'd think about it, maybe tease him a little bit in the process. Then, just when his hopes would be up, she'd shatter them by grabbing the nearest guy and going out with him instead. They'd flaunt themselves all around town, and James would be forced to see them or hear mention of them wherever he went, forever reminding him of what he lost.

Dora caught herself before she went any further. It always happened like that; she would think of one thing, and eventually her thoughts would lead to ways of hurting that brainless oaf James.

Suddenly, her face fell. She sighed and jammed her hands deep into her pockets. No, she thought, not brainless. Not at all... He was smart, witty, funny, charming, and most importantly, during the relationship he _cared_ for her. He acted like the perfect gentleman to her. When she envisioned a man, it was always him she saw. He was the only person she could have ever pictured as her husband.

Dora took a deep breath and kicked a rock softly. Even though weeks had passed, she still couldn't get her mind off of him. She'd learned to mostly control her emotions, and even found slight happiness in small things, but he was always there in her head, still making her fall in love with him over and over again, if not making her visualize her revenge against him.

The red-head sniffed and allowed her eyes to travel skyward, up Mt. Aleph's rocky face to a ledge midway up the mountain. There stood the monument to the Wise One that her ex-boyfriend helped create and position. When she first heard that they had completed it, she didn't want to even see it, as it reminded her of him. However, looking at it the past few days, she couldn't help but find the beauty in it. The Wise One's unblinking eye would forever watch over Vale and its people. It was symbolic in a way-almost poetic. How could a man who worked on that precious statue give up a life of romance to be a sage? It just didn't make sense to Dora, and she considered herself the most sensible person around!

A few men walked by in the distance, chatting loudly to each other. Dora wasn't feeling very social, so she changed her route and began moving away from them, cutting around behind a house and walking towards a bridge. What was she doing, anyway?

Sticks. That's right-that's what she was supposed to be looking for. The adept frowned at her own stupidity-she shouldn't have even been on the pathway searching for sticks. The sturdiest branches were probably deeper into the forest. Dora made a beeline for the nearest gap in the trees, tied her hair back with some decorative bands from her pocket, and began looking around the ground for anything that looked like it would make a decent tool to hit other sticks with. Or maybe something to whack James upside the head with. That made her wonder if it was possible to actually knock some sense into someone. Maybe she could get her revenge _and_ her boyfriend back in one swift thwap to his skull.

She found some great specimens within a few minutes of traveling through the thick forest. After those few, though, she had a difficult time, and opted to move off the pathway. It turned out being the wisest choice. After ten minutes of searching off the path, she had an armful of great sticks. They would need work, but as they had done with the store, she knew that she and Kyle could turn them into amazing works of art. Especially if Kyle really could carve worth anything.

As Dora weaved through the forest, taking an alternate-most likely longer-route back to the store, something caught her the attention of her blue eyes. Tired of carrying the sticks, she dropped them, wiped her hands clean, moved her bangs out of her eyes, and then traversed over the brush until she came to a small clearing where sunlight was allowed through to bathe everything in a small radius. Dora walked to the middle of the clearing and looked up at what had distracted her.

A grin crept onto her face. "Perfect," she said quietly.

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"Perfect," Kyle approved as he looked over the sticks Dora had brought him. "They'll work great, if I'm thinking of this the same way you are." He still wasn't sure he understood what Dora wanted with the whole stick thing. "What are we doing, again?"

"It's not that difficult. You make them like swords or staves, then I'll paint and decorate them," Dora said, as if she had explained this a thousand times.

Kyle nodded and grabbed one of the larger sticks out of the pile. "Thought so. But it's going to be a little bit harder than that, you know."

"What do you mean?" Dora said.

"Well, if we want them to be _really_ good, we have to do more than paint them. I'm not sure of all the steps-we could probably talk to a furnisher about that, but I think there's a finishing process and some way of helping it so the paint doesn't chip.

The female adept arched an eyebrow. "I don't think we need to go through all that," she said with an amused smile. "We're going to sell these dirt cheap, anyway."

Shrugging, Kyle placed the stick back in the pile. "If you say so. I still think it's a silly idea, to be honest."

Dora playfully pushed Kyle. "Well, gee, thanks for the support," she said in a mock-hurt tone of voice. "Though, I am impressed you tried to take the stick idea as far as you suggested. I think you're actually starting to care about the shop!"

Kyle pouted. "Oh darn. You're on to me," he said casually.

Dora grinned. "Enough about sticks. I have something else to talk to you about. I think you'll be really excited for it!"

The young man's ears perked up at that. Dora had come to know him fairly well lately, so if she thought he'd be excited, well...chances are it was more than true. Not to mention, she was much happier coming back than when she had left. She had all of his attention.

"I'm listening," he said, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms.

Dora moved the sticks off the counter, placing them in the corner, and then reached into her pocket.

"Guess what I have here," she said, jiggling her hand around to show she was holding something in her pocket.

One thing came to Kyle's mind when it came to surprises and Dora. He was certain it wouldn't be right, but it was the only thing he could come up with. "Food?" Kyle guessed.

Dora frowned. "Of course you'd guess that first," she said, pulling her hand out of her pocket and tossing an apple to Kyle.

"Fruit?" he said. "What does an apple have to do with anything?"

Dora leaned against the counter. "I figured out one way you can help me prepare for the festival. If all goes well, I can also show you a psynergy skill in the process. It's been a while since we've been on that."

"Well, yeah...but I still haven't mastered 'Move'," Kyle pointed out.

"True, but who said you had to learn only one skill at a time?"

Kyle thought about that for a moment. "My capacity for multitasking?" he finally answered meekly.

"Oh, ha-ha," Dora said sarcastically. She wasn't expecting him to actually answer that question. "I thought we rid you of your laziness."

This brought a sigh from Kyle. He knew he was going to give in, but he still didn't like the idea of it. Why did Dora think he'd be excited for this? Psynergy just wasn't _him_. The adept tossed the apple back to Dora. "What's the plan, then?"

Dora grinned brightly. Kyle had to admit it was hard to deny her when she was that happy.

"I found some apple trees deep into the forest," she told him as she began cleaning the apple with her shirt. "I don't think they belong to anybody because there are no pathways, so I won't feel bad if we use them for the festival," she explained.

"The festival? What do you mean?"

The female adept held the apple up and motioned to it as if she were making a sales pitch. "With this fantastic ingredient, we can make apple pies!" the young woman explained, underlining and motioning to the apple dramatically with her other hand.

Kyle groaned and put his head in his hands, also dramatically. "Just great," he muttered.

Dora's smile dropped. "What? What's wrong?"

Kyle looked up with an expression of defeat. "You just had to pick the one thing I don't like."

After a moment's silence, Dora actually started to laugh lightly. "And here I thought you weren't human! I was hoping I'd find something you didn't like sooner or later," she teased. "Now I can threaten you with bad cooking!"

"Apples are disgusting," Kyle complained, shooting Dora a dirty look. He didn't want to tell her _why_ he thought so. He bit into an old one as a child that had a worm in it. Every time he had apples since then, he could feel the wriggling chunks in his mouth. "Apple pies are hardly better. Why'd you have to pick those?"

Dora took a bite out of the apple and began moaning as if she were eating the greatest thing the world had to offer. "Mmmmm... Delicious!" she said, winking at Kyle. She started to giggle at her own antics as her co-worker stuck a finger in his throat and made a fake gagging sound. Apple juice started to run out of her lips and down her chin.

Kyle watched her face for a moment, and then turned away with a slightly pink tint to his cheeks. "So gross," the young man grunted, waving her off. Then he laid his head down on the counter in his arms as if he didn't want to watch her eat the apple anymore.

As Dora continued to giggle at herself and make more teasing comments on how tasty the apple was, Kyle couldn't help but smile. She was definitely acting better than before. He could watch apple juice dribble down her lips all day if it meant she'd keep laughing and smiling.

His heart skipped a beat as he thought of that moment, and for a few seconds he lost his smirk. He thought of her lips curving into that infectious, teasing smile as she chewed. That girlish laughter-forcing the liquid out between her lips-sucked him in like nothing he'd ever felt before. Following that, the juice just seemed to draw attention to how full her lips looked. Were they really that pretty? Her eyes definitely are, he thought. What was it he rated her again? An eight? Nine? Kyle couldn't even remember-his thoughts were so distorted. Dora radiated a nine, at the very least. Why hadn't the he noticed before? Dora's sapphire eyes were so deep and intelligent, and the curve of her lips couldn't have been more perfect when she smiled.

And Dora thought he was cheesy before. What would she say if he told her how he was starting to feel about her?

Kyle's brain came to a sudden halt. His heart started pounding as he began to realize that he might be _attracted_ to her. He quickly ran over in his mind if there anything about her that he didn't like. Yes, yes, of course there was, he suddenly remembered-she was an overbearing control-freak. What she wanted she got, and that didn't sit well with him and his needs.

But then, Dora _was_ beautiful. The red, wavy hair looked like it couldn't be more perfect. It was both beautiful and natural, unlike some other girls in Vale. And he found himself staring more and more at her eyes. Those amazing eyes... When she smiled, _they_ smiled. They sparkled and drew him in during those rare girlish, giddy moments she had. He loved those moments.

Kyle tried not to even think about her lips. His heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest every time his mind zoomed in on them. But he couldn't help it-just by trying _not_ to think about them, his mind was immediately on it, and the think tank that was his brain began spawning all sorts of images for him to go over. For the first time in a long time, he pictured himself kissing a girl. Mom would be so proud, he grudgingly thought.

Kyle's daydreams went on like that for another few agonizing seconds. He only stopped when he felt Dora lay her hand on his shoulder, which made him practically jump out of his skin.

"So what do you say, Kyle?" she inquired. "Want to help me with those apples? If you do a really good job, then I'll make you something special that doesn't have apples in it," she promised. She flashed one of her charming, sweet smiles-the kind that was beginning to suck Kyle in like a tornado.

Kyle composed himself, ignoring his rapid heartbeat. He allowed his eyes to glance at Dora's lips; She had apparently wiped them clean since he last saw them. "Yeah, sure," he said, forcing a casual tone and casting his eyes away from her face. "Just let me know when."

Dora's face brightened. "Great!" the young woman replied happily, and added, "I was thinking we could do it for an hour or so after work each day. That way we won't have to leave the shop unattended."

"That sounds good," Kyle said before he could stop himself. He bit his lip as he suddenly remembered the promise to himself about making it harder for Dora to squeeze more help out of him. He failed miserably.

Dora walked around the counter and bent over, looking Kyle right in the face as her red hair fell over her cheeks. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked. "You look flushed."

Face-to-face with her, Kyle was forced to see the concerned expression spread on the face his mind was beginning to daydream about. Dora was concerned for _him_. As he thought about it, he realized she had probably cared for him much longer than he was giving her credit for. Probably ever since the day she saved him from falling. That just made it worse for Kyle as he was discovering Dora didn't have a weird personality as much as he liked to think. She was actually a genuinely nice person.

Then it hit the flustered young man like a bale full of straw. Dora was a single, beautiful, kind and caring female his age who was close to him and enjoyed his company. Kyle was stunned as he realized the situation that had snuck into his life right under his nose.

"Kyle?"

Shaking his head, Kyle said, "Oh, y-yeah. I'm okay. Just feeling a little warm."

Dora tilted her head and studied the red face in front of her. "I see..." she murmured slowly. "Just make sure you keep yourself hydrated, okay?"

"Sure thing," Kyle said. He reached a slightly shaky hand for his jug of water under the counter to show her he was obeying her-but mostly he was doing it so he could turn away from her and get a grip. Being forced to stare at her face made him feel like he was about to have a heart attack. He felt it was more convenient when he didn't know the reason why he was suddenly caring about her more.

Dora turned away from him and walked over to her own counter. "We'll hold off practicing Move today if you're not feeling well. Plus, it'll help to save your psynergy for Catch."

Kyle breathed a silent sigh of relief. After allowing himself to calm down, he looked back over at Dora. It was much easier to stare at her when she was on the opposite side of the room. "I'm going to be learning Catch?" he asked.

"Yep! It's the best way to get those apples out of the tree. Not only that, but if I ever fall off of a roof for some reason or another, you can return the favor and catch me," she joked.

Kyle raised his eyebrow and coughed. She was joking with him, of course. "Sounds good to me. Let's hope for a freak accident then, so I can do just that," he joked back.

Dora tossed the apple core across the room and it bounced off of Kyle's messy brunette hair. "How's that for a freak accident?" she smirked, suppressing a giggle at Kyle's surprised expression.

Kyle grabbed the core off the ground and threw it back, but it just missed Dora as she ducked behind her chair. "It definitely involves a freak. We'll have to ask your mom if you were an accident," he teased, smiling arrogantly back at her.

The two bantered back and forth like that until they decided it was time to be serious and get to work. That only lasted for half an hour before they were at it again, pretending to sword fight with the sticks they had been working on.

"Pitiful. I can see how your mom beat you," Dora said, clicking her tongue and shaking her head after she'd trapped Kyle into a corner.

Kyle used that moment to his advantage and made a surprise lunge attack, prodding Dora gently in the stomach. "A direct hit!" he cheered, throwing his hands in the air. "Ladies and gentlemen, the winner and new champion of Colosso-Kyle!" He made mock bows to the non-existent audience seated around the shop.

Dora felt she lost beautifully, and retained her dignity and honor by shaking hands with the victor. "Congratulations, Sir Kyle. Next year you won't have such an easy fight," she vowed with a slight bow of her head.

Accepting the handshake, Kyle dipped his head. "You fought well, Sir Applemuncher. May your sword never splinter and your armor never chafe."

Dora went into giggling fits after that. When she regained her composure, she brushed her red hair out of her eyes and gave Kyle a hard look. "Your cheesiness is rubbing off on me," she said.

"You get used to it," Kyle responded, waving her off dismissively. Personally, he would have called it wit. Either way, he was having a blast. He'd never seen this side of Dora, and once again he was reminded that he judged her prematurely. It made him feel better about the realization that he was attracted to her, anyway.

A glint appeared in Dora's eye. She folded her arms and said, "Oh, great-I get used to it? I suppose next I'll start sketching ridiculously busty women, hm?"

That teasing jab at Kyle's drawings spawned another Colosso tournament, which went on and off throughout the rest of the work day.

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Closing time came faster than they expected that day. Dora mentally scolded herself for allowing the day to pass without finishing much work. As she thought about it, though, she realized she didn't have a single bit of regret. She had _fun_. Kyle was such a goofball throughout the day, and she needed that. It was a great distraction to take her mind off of things, and she clinged on to the silliness as if it were second-nature to her. So who cared if the sticks didn't get worked on? They weren't in demand. They could wait if it meant she could bond with her co-worker. That alone should increase productivity, Dora reasoned. That is, as soon as they got to work on something productive.

And even better than that-her cheeks hurt from the laughing. Kyle made some of the most random, off-the-wall comments and jokes. Normally she wouldn't have found them funny at all, but her silly mood threw her for a loop and Kyle suddenly became ten times as entertaining.

The young lady hoped they could have more days like that. Anything to help take her mind off of her darker thoughts. He was a better friend than she had ever imagined possible.

"So just how many apples are we looking to get?" Kyle asked as he swerved around a bush. The pair were trekking through the forest toward the clearing where Dora had found the apple trees. Gripped in Kyle's arms was an empty crate from the shop, while Dora held a piece of paper to write down how many apples she'd have at her disposal when the time came to bake.

"All of them," Dora answered. "Even if I don't use them in the pies, we can figure out something to do with the leftovers. You should practice Catch until there's nothing left."

"_All_? How many trees are there?"

"Six, so it won't be that much work. You can potentially get all of the apples in just a few days, assuming you don't push yourself too hard and wind up at the sanctum."

Kyle looked at Dora with a worried expression. "And how do I know when I'm using up too much psynergy?"

Dora didn't quite expect that. It was like second nature for an adept to gauge how much psynergy one had, so she naturally assumed Kyle could tell how much he had as well. She thought all adepts knew how.

"You can't feel it?" she asked quietly. Dora didn't want to sound disappointed in him this time. She had since learned that Kyle's less than adequate psynergy lessons greatly handicapped him in everything that involved psynergy. Outbursts in disbelief wouldn't do any good at this point, she told herself.

Kyle simply shrugged and resumed looking at the forest ahead. The young man's blue eyes hid something, but Dora wasn't sure what.

"That's a bit trickier than simply giving a command to your psynergy..." Dora said slowly. "I've never really thought about it before, to be honest with you."

Sighing, Kyle looked over at Dora. He flashed a pitiful smile. "I never was good with any part of psynergy," he explained.

Dora gave an understanding nod. "Even so, you can improve, as you have with Move. I guess if I had to explain feeling out your psynergy...it starts here," she said, placing her hand over her heart. "The odd thing about that is, before we had researchers, most people thought psynergy came from the mind. For a while now, we've known that's not the case. It's always the heart."

"This sounds like something out of a clich storybook," Kyle said with an unbelieving stare as they passed around a fallen, dead tree.

Despite being impressed that Kyle's vocabulary was larger than she thought, Dora didn't approve of his attitude. "I don't make the rules, I'm just explaining them to the best of my ability. I can't help it if it sounds silly."

Kyle put his hands together and began to flutter his eyelids. "Oh, my heart is so full of psynergy!" he said in a falsetto voice. "True love will make us strong!"

Dora cleared her throat. "Do you want to learn this or not? If you keep making it difficult, I'll give you a real good reason to have a high-pitched voice," she threatened teasingly.

Kyle backed down. "Please," he said light-heartedly, motioning for her to continue with a bow and a hand gesture while gripping the box in the other hand.

Flashing a victorious smile, Dora nodded firmly, causing her red hair to fall off her shoulders, and said, "Thank you. You should be taking this seriously, you know." She figured Kyle was still being silly due to earlier. While she couldn't blame him for wanting those moments to continue, he had to be serious in _something_, and learning psynergy was a great thing to take seriously. Especially since she was so willing to teach him.

"You're right," Kyle said. "No more interruptions then."

"Good," Dora said. She reached up and tied her hair back again, as she had done earlier in the forest. "As I was saying..." she continued. "Just as blood is pumped with the heart, so is psynergy. Our hearts _create_ it. That's one of the key differences between us adepts and regular humans," Dora explained. "And that's why after using psynergy, we can regain it slowly without touching a psynergy stone."

Dora looked over to make sure Kyle was listening.

Catching the action, Kyle nodded. "Okay," he said, showing he understood her so far.

Satisfied, Dora went on. "Now, here's the problem with our hearts; the psynergy that's pumped from there is such a small amount that it's hardly useful. You see, psynergy comes from the heart, but it's not _stored_ there. We can't call on it directly from the heart."

Kyle had a confused expression on his face. "Why?" he asked.

"We just can't," Dora said simply. "It's not how it works."

"So...where is it stored then?"

Dora gave a little smile. "You're going to love this part. The psynergy that's pumped from here," she started saying, pointing to her heart again, "flows around our bodies uselessly. There's not enough there to do anything with. However, eventually it all ends up in one place."

Kyle watched as she made a trail from her heart down to her stomach.

"It collects here. Eventually we build up enough to actually use, because it doesn't go anywhere else once it's inside our stomach."

Kyle looked from Dora's belly to his. "I think I'm still a little confused," he admitted. "How does that tell me whether I'm out of psynergy or not?"

"Well, the easiest way to tell if you're _out_ of psynergy, in your case, would be if whatever you're casting doesn't work. That's the sign that you should drop all psynergy related activities for a while, or go recharge at our psynergy stone."

"And if I kept on trying to use it, I'd pass out?" Kyle asked.

Dora considered that for a moment. "Well, no, in most cases it just won't work and that's that," the girl said, deep in thought. "However, in cases where people pass out... Usually that's from forcing it."

"Forcing it? How?"

Dora paused to figure out the best choice of words. "I suppose it's like if you're starving. If you're hungry, your body is forced to consume what's not there. In that situation, what does it consume instead?"

"Uh... Itself, I guess?"

"Right. The fat in our body will slowly disappear. Our body will live off of itself as long as it can. But, the cost of that is that our energy disappears as well. Eventually we would die from not eating."

Kyle nodded. "Yeah. But what's the relation to psynergy?"

Dora changed direction slightly. Off in the distance she could spot the apple trees in the sun-lit clearing. It was a welcome sight-she felt like Kyle was more of the type to experience things than be told things. He learned faster that way.

"The analogy of that is pretty much the same thing. If we don't allow our body to rebuild its psynergy, and we force it too much to use psynergy when there isn't any in reserve, where does it have to go to get it?"

Kyle thought about that for a moment. "Our heart?" he answered. "But I thought you said-"

"Wrong," Dora cut in. "Don't forget that the heart _creates_ psynergy. It doesn't actually contain any in it, other than-and here's the answer-the psynergy that is continuously flowing through our bodies. So when we're out of reserves, that's where our body goes to try and get it. It starts pulling it directly from the rest of our body."

"Ahh." Kyle seemed to understand now.

"So when that happens, our bodies are denied a valuable energy source that we're actually relying on as we speak. We've evolved to the point where we require that psynergy to pump through us. If it's sapped out of us prematurely, we can become exhausted quickly, or, as you've seen, pass out. It works the same way if someone doesn't have enough psynergy, and they force an ability that takes more than they have."

"Okay, that makes sense. That sounds like what happened to you, after moving the straw to the roof."

Dora smiled as they approached the apple trees. She was pleased to see that Kyle had grasped it perfectly. "I'm glad I could explain it properly. This whole issue is also why some of us have curing abilities as well. Sometimes all it takes for our body to recover from exhaustion is a burst of pure psynergy from another adept. And if somebody passes out, 'Revive' is like a complete refresh to our psynergy circuit and reserves, so we're up in seconds."

"I think we've gone a little off track here," Kyle pointed out. "This is interesting, really, but you still haven't told me how I can tell how much psynergy I have."

Dora sighed, "I know, I know. It's just that...I don't really know how to explain it. It's like this feeling."

"Uh huh," Kyle said, staring at her with a raised eyebrow. "I'm supposed to believe you can explain everything on this planet regarding psynergy except what I need to know?"

Dora shrugged and stopped beside the first apple tree. "I pretty much just explained what I've read in Vale's history books, and the books don't explain any method. It's just like second-nature to adepts; you learn it through experience. At the very least, you know what's going on inside your body now when it comes to psynergy. If you think about it while you use it, it might click." She hoped that would be the case, anyway. It could be dangerous to use a psynergy-imbued item without knowing your limit.

Kyle placed down the empty crate he had brought from the shop, then stared up at the apples hanging above him. "Is it like being hungry if you're out of psynergy?"

"No... Not quite," Dora said, hesitating for a moment. Was it like that? It didn't exactly feel that way to her.

"That's too bad, because I'm not feeling hungry now," he said, making a disgusted face and motioning to the apples.

Dora laughed and walked up to Kyle. "This should be interesting to watch," she stated while digging her hand into her pockets. "Keep these in your pocket. As long as they're that close to your body, you can use Catch," she explained, revealing the Catch Beads in her hand.

Kyle took the beads from her and stared at them. "Just like that, huh?"

"Yep, just like that. Your psynergy somehow attaches itself to the beads, and before you know it, you're an expert at Catch. You have to be careful with those, though. Like I told you before, psynergy skills granted by items can be more taxing on your reserves until your body gets used to that ability."

The brunette slipped them into his pocket, then stepped away from the tree. "Hey, Dora? Do you know how to use Revive?" he asked while rubbing his hands together in preparation.

Dora tilted her head. "No, that one's way too advanced for me. Why?"

Kyle bit his lip. "Well, if I pass out, I don't envy you having to carry me to the sanctum." He exhaled deeply, then stuck his hand out toward the first apple on the nearest tree. "Catch!" he exclaimed loudly.

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Fortunately for Dora, Kyle didn't pass out the entire time they were there. Kyle was very proud of that fact-he didn't think Dora could do more than drag him back to Vale, unless she could manage to use "Move" the whole way.

The session started off slow, but picked up as soon as Kyle got the aiming down. He was amazed at how well the skill was working compared to his Move psynergy. He was beginning to think he was a natural at it until he remembered the Catch Beads jiggling around in his pocket. A small part of him felt like he was cheating. He couldn't always keep the beads with him, so what if he had to use Catch in a different situation and he left them in his other pants?

The pair were walking side-by-side through the forest, with Kyle lugging the heavy box. The pain in his hands and arms told him to take a break every few minutes, but the sun was beginning to set. He figured they could easily make it out of the forest before the sun disappeared from the sky, but he didn't want to risk it by slowing them down. The Mayor and Elders often warned people about staying in the forest after sunset, and he knew they'd get in trouble if they were found out.

Dora had offered to help him out several times, but he refused every time. He didn't want to bother her with the heavy-that's what he considered one of his jobs in assisting her with the whole baking process. Plus, he was capable of it, and he wanted to show her that he could do anything she wanted or needed.

And then he realized that didn't sound at all like him, and wondered if his sub-conscious was trying to show off to the girl it had become attached to.

"What am I supposed to do if I need to use Catch, but I don't have the beads on me?" Kyle asked, getting the question off of his mind and distracting his thoughts at the same time. He hoisted the box higher and changed his grip to relax a muscle here and there.

Dora stepped over a fallen branch. "Well, at this point, nothing. You wouldn't be able to use it."

"Oh... That's too bad," Kyle said, a little sadly. He was hoping he would've mastered Catch by now on his own. He sheepishly realized he probably would've failed miserably if he had actually tested that theory before asking.

"It's not, really," Dora said. "Catch is a skill that was lost long ago, apparently. Catch Beads are the only way to use it now. It can't be naturally taught or learned. Our bodies just can't process and create it like they used to."

Kyle slowly maneuvered around a bush, trying not to rip his pants for the fifth time. "That's weird. I didn't know that sort of thing happened."

"What, losing abilities?"

"Yeah," Kyle confirmed. "Catch seems so simple, too."

Dora smiled to Kyle. "You'd be heartbroken to learn of some of the abilities we could have used a century ago. Zero wars means less abilities needed," she explained. "And we also are concealing our abilities to the outside world. Adepts are a pitiful shadow of what we used to be. I heard rumors that there are no more adepts outside of Vale."

"But...we use psynergy all the time."

"Oh, sure," Dora said with a shrug. "Just not the violent kind. I'd say only about five-percent of the village knows anything about combat psynergy."

Kyle still wasn't convinced. "But what about Catch? How did our bodies forget that?"

"Easy," Dora said, concentrating on where her feet were going. "We lost it during the wars from a long time ago. Adepts didn't bother using it when they could hone their combat psynergy. Most villages turned to hunting, so crops were rare. Then after the wars, we lost our combat psynergy for the most part, but retained the little non-combat psynergy we still used during the wars." She paused to jump over a stump. "That's the theory, anyway," she said as she waited for Kyle to walk around the stump.

Kyle was silent for a long time after that. Very few things worried him in life, as was his preference. He rarely looked up at the night sky, because he felt small and began to worry whether he mattered or not. Hearing Dora talk about how psynergy was disappearing made him feel a lot like he was staring up at the sky again. When he finally spoke, he looked right at Dora with a hint of worry on his face. "It's like we're fading away, isn't it?"

Dora met Kyle's eyes with her own. "Exactly. That's why I'm trying to get you to use psynergy, silly. If we don't use it, we lose it. Eventually it will fade away, and you won't be able to tell an adept from a human."

That made a lot of sense to Kyle. For a long time he thought he actually lost the ability to use psynergy after he stopped practicing it for so long. But what was the point when you just had no talent at it? Besides, he thought, he was just one guy. One person not using psynergy wasn't going to make the whole race lose it. He felt that was a good enough excuse not to suddenly drop everything and learn all the psynergy he could. He didn't want to admit that he was very tempted to do just that.

"Fortunately for you, it's not too late," Dora said with a grin as she passed through the trees and entered Vale. Just a sliver of sunlight could be seen in the distance. Dora paused for Kyle to emerge from the trees, then made her way toward the road that would lead to her house.

Kyle stayed on her trail, and soon was next to her again. "Do you know any, uh...combat psynergy?" he asked hesitantly. He only saw one demonstration of it before, and was interested in learning more about it.

Dora looked straight at him with an amused smile and a raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like I know any?"

Kyle was about to answer "Yes, definitely", but was interrupted by a man running towards them. It took a moment for Kyle to tell who it was, but before the man reached them he recognized him as George.

"Dora! Thank goodness! I've been looking everywhere for you!" he exclaimed, panting heavily.

Kyle's heart skipped a beat. Did they get in trouble after all? George seemed extremely relieved to see them. Maybe somebody realized they didn't come home after closing up shop. He was about to apologize to George, when he found out his concerns weren't the issue.

"It's your grandfather," George said hastily with a pained expression. "He's not doing well."

Within seconds all three of the adepts were running back up the hill toward Isaac's house. The moonlight emerged shortly after, illuminating the roadside. Dropped carelessly in the middle of the road were a bunch of apples rolling out of a crate marked "Fragile".

* * *

**End:**_ Chapter Four  
_


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